Opened: March 23, 1940 by Peoples Theater Company, a firm operated by exhibitor D.B. Levin, better known as Ben Levin. The theatre is on the east side of the street between 22nd and 23rd. Photo: Bill Counter - 2014
An article on page thirteen of the February 25, 1940 Chronicle had a facade rendering as well as a discussion of the project along with comments on other renovations and new construction on the block. The article gave a cost of $250,000 for the theatre and noted that Levin had a 99 year lease from the Lurie Co.
The opening was noted in the March 23 Chronicle as "bringing another new family theater to the Mission district." Jack Tillmany found the page seven article via Newsbank. The article noted that Levin was returning to a location near where he had operated an earlier Grand Theatre in the silent days. That house, also known as the Mission and the Realart, was just down the block at 2605 Mission St.
Jack notes Levin also had the Valencia Theatre in 1916 and was trying to rent it for "special occasions and benefits," "fully equipped, capacity 1700." That venue had never been a success as either a legit or film house. It was later churched. Levin is listed as manager of the Valencia in a list of theatres on page 38 of the May 13, 1917 Chronicle. He was noted as being the house manager at the first Balboa Theatre in a page eleven article in the December 22, 1922 Chronicle about that theatre's opening. The article also mentions that he had previously worked for theatre operators Ackerman and Harris.
Website: grayarea.org/theater/rental | facebook.com/GrayArea
Architects: G. Albert Lansburgh and S. Charles Lee
Seating: 867 at one time, all on one level. The floor was leveled when the building was used for retail. There's no longer any fixed seating.
Closing: The end came around April 1988 according to Jack Tillmany.
Status: It's now a mixed use space for shows and exhibits for the arts/tech group Gray Area. They got a 10 year lease in 2014 and embarked on a series of renovation projects. The vertical was refurbished in 2023. Hoodline had the news with their March story "Neon Sign for Mission Street's Grand Theater..."
Interior views:
A look at the proscenium after the Gray Area renovations. It's a photo from the Gray Area Facebook page.
Thanks to Amy Chung for this 2016 photo on the BAHT Facebook page. She commented: "The key to survival for some of our old theaters is to repurpose them for modern function. The Grand Theater in San Francisco still serves the arts community."
More exterior views:
A September 1946 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. He notes: "'Spawn of the North' is a 1938 film that was re-released in 1946 and both the Balboa & Grand chose to program it with another Paramount title from WWII 'Till We Meet Again' which came out in 1944. As you've already found out, retreads were typical of this era, from automobile tires to movies."
A January 1963 photo taken by Jack Tillmany. He comments: "That's my faithful 1956 Buick Century parked across the street." Thanks to Matt Spero for his color correction work.
Thanks to Lily Costello for this 1966 shot looking north on Mission St. That's the New Mission in down in the next block. She had the photo as a post on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered.
A 1970 view, from the San Francisco Public Library collection. It also appears on the Gray Area website.
A 1975 Jack Tillmany collection photo. He comments: "For clarification of those less well informed, or simply cautiously curious, 'The Chinese Mechanic' was not about an Asian Automobile Repairman. It's one of an endless flood of trendy Kung-Fu 'chop-sockies' (as they were popularly called) that flooded USA theatres during the 1970s and kept a lot of wickets turning at otherwise, by then, only marginally profitable sites. For the record, here's the on line synopsis from IMDb: 'Barry Chan, upon release from prison for killing a man, has to decide whether to help his father stand up to local crime gangs who are trying to force him out of his home. If he stays and fights, he risks returning to jail - if he leaves...oh, come on. He isn't going to leave.' Way to go, Barry!"
The photo can also be seen with a 2015 KQED article about the ongoing restoration of the building. Thanks to William David French Jr. for spotting the article. KQED credits the photo to the San Francisco History Association. It was provided to them by Jack.
A 1976 look north on Mission St. The photo appeared with "San Francisco Movie Theaters Then and Now," a 2011 SF Gate article by Peter Hartlaub. It's a Susan Ehmer photo for the Chronicle.
A nice shot of the theatre in its Spanish language days from Andrew Bayardo. He had it in a post on San Francisco Remembered.
A 2011 look north on Mission St. The photo appeared with the 2011 "Then and Now" SF Gate article by Peter Hartlaub. It's a photo by Mr. Hartlaub.
More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Grand.
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.
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