2781 24th St. |
map |
Opened: September 22, 1926 as the Roosevelt Theatre. It's on the south side of the street between York and Hampshire. That's about ten blocks east of Mission St. The 1944 photo from the Jack Tillmany
collection appears on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.
Website: www.brava.org
Architects: Reid Brothers
Seating: 1,500 was the initial announced capacity. 1,006 was a number appearing in a later Film Daily Yearbook. It now has 350 seats plus a 60 seat studio space.
An article announcing the project that appeared in the January 2, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News. The article says it's a project by Alex E. Levin but by the time it was finished it was an Ackerman and Harris operation.
A September 1926 story. The Union Square was another Ackerman & Harris operation. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a Facebook thread about the theatre on Ken's Movie Page.
A June 1938 calendar from the Jack Tillmany collection featuring the theatre's vertical sign.
An August 1941 calendar from the Jack Tillmany collection. Thanks, Jack!
It was renamed the York 24 in 1962, later just becoming the York Theatre. The Red Vic gang was running it in the 80s.
Brecht Andersch comments:
"The York was my ultimate movie palace... The programming became increasingly spectacular over the years, the audience was great, and the decor and design of the theater was quietly splendiferous. I saw so many great films there, and when I left the Bay Area for a while in ‘85, it was never better. Alas, when I moved back in ‘91, it had gone second run, and then was shuttered.
"The only complaint I ever had about the York was they didn’t put ice in the soft drinks. I became enamored of the great Castro Theatre not long after discovering the York, and then later became a regular at another BA ultimate theater, the New Varsity in Palo Alto (those who knew it well remember its wonders). But the York will always be my first ultimate movie palace, never forgotten."
A June and July 1985 calendar from the collection of Martina Wegener. She comments: "I was helping out at the York in 1985 and saw hundreds of movies. I loved that place!"
Thanks to Bob Ekman for this schedule for a science fiction marathon in 1988. He notes that he provided some of the films. This image and the one below were added by Bob as comments to a post on the
BAHT Facebook page.
The inside of the 1988 schedule. Thanks, Bob!
Mike Thomas and Greg King were running the theatre as a repertory house around 1990. Later it was the Cine York and went to Spanish language product. It closed as a film house in 1993. It was renamed the Brava in 1996 and got a big remodel in 2001.
The York in the movies:
A view east on 24th St. from Louis Malle's 1984 film "Crackers." Thanks to Kerwin Berk for spotting the theatre in the film and getting this screenshot. He added it as a comment to a post about the theatre on the
BAHT Facebook page. He says the film is "
pretty
forgettable but the York marquee shows up quite a bit in the background
and in b-roll, here with Donald Sutherland and Wallace Shawn."
Lobby views:
An undated lobby view. Thanks to Tod Booth for sharing this as a comment to a post about the theatre on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. Tod managed the theatre at one time.
A look at the snackbar when the theatre was still a film house. Photo: Tod Booth - San Francisco Remembered. Thanks, Todd!
A look in the front doors in 2017. Thanks to Scott Neff for the photo, one appearing on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.
The auditorium:
A
1944 look toward the stage. With the renovations, it's now down to a capacity of 350. The
Jack Tillmany collection photo appears on Cinema Tour. There's also a version of the photo from Jack's collection on the San Francisco Public Library website.
Jack comments: "The Balboa interior, before it was twinned, was very similar to the
Roosevelt, except on a smaller scale, with a much more shallow balcony.
Since we've never been able to find any photos of the unviolated Balboa,
at least this will give people some idea of what it was like."
A 1991 photo taken by Gary Parks during the Theatre Historical Society's visit during their conclave.
A
construction view toward the back of the house by Lea Suzuki for the
Chronicle. It appears with a 2000 SF Gate article "Roosevelt Redux / Mission District movie house to become women's theater center."
A 2014 rear of the auditorium view from Franck Bohbot's Cinema Series.
A c.1938 view from the Jack Tillmany collection. He notes that rail service on Line #35 ended in 1940. The Roosevelt was running "The Gladiator" with Joe E. Brown.
Looking east on 24th from Florida St. toward the theatre. That's Potrero Hill beyond.
It's a 1945 photo in the collection of the San Francisco Public Library.
"Undercover Girl" and "Harvey" playing in March 1951. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this shot as a comment to a post he did featuring the 1938 "Gladiator" photo of the theatre on the Market Street Railway Facebook group.
A 1951 look at the theatre from the San Francisco Assessor's Office appearing on the Open SF History Project website. Thanks to David Gallager for sharing this one as a
comment to another photo of the theatre on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered.
Jack Tillmany comments: "For the record, as that 1951 photo shows, it followed the Victoria as the Mission District's 2nd Spanish language venue."
A c.1968 photo by Tom Gray that's from the Jack Tillmany collection. "Appendiendo a vivir" was a 1967 release. The theatre got the York name in 1962.
Note the "Peliculas en Español" at the bottom of the vertical and above the readerboard. Jack
notes that the * at the bottom of the name had been to fill
some space where a "24" once had been when it was called the York 24.
A c.1975 view by Tom Gray of the theatre running "The Exorcit" [sic], presumably either dubbed or with Spanish subtitles. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this photo from his collection.
An entrance view from the Jack Tillmany collection taken after the York began running as a bargain revival house.
A September 1980 photo from the now-vanished American Classic Images website. Inflation was an issue. Those two hits now cost $3.50.
A 1986 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
Thanks to Tod Booth for sharing this signage view as a comment to a post about the theatre on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page.
A 1986 photo from American Classic Images.
A photo taken during the remodeling project that appeared on the Facebook page Lost San Francisco.
A post-remodel view appearing on Lost San Francisco. Nice new vertical but, sadly, the project didn't include a marquee.
A c.2015 view of the vertical taken by Gary Parks. On a Facebook post he commented: "The sign harks back a little to the old York neon sign, but is actually a bit more ornate than what was formerly there."
A 2017 look at the vertical. Photo: Scott Neff - Cinema Tour. Thanks, Scott
A c.2020 look at the repainted facade. It later got a second face added. It's a photo from the Brava website.
The lot to the west of the theatre cleared. It's a June 2021 image from Google Maps.
Looking west along the building in February 2022. That's a new building going up beyond the theatre's entrance. Photo: Google Maps
The facade in 2024. Thanks to Joel Sanchez for sharing his photo with the Facebook group San Francisco Photography.
More information: Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on
Google Books. It's available from
Amazon or your local bookseller.
See the Cinema Tour and Cinema Treasures pages. 2008 photos on Flickr from BW Chicago: auditorium | auditorium rear + lots more | another auditorium view + on to exteriors |
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