Opened: September 21, 1928 as the Marina Theatre with Bebe Daniels in "Hot News." Like everything else not on Market St., it was a second run theatre. In this July 1957 photo by Morton-Waters Co. they're running "Seventh Sin" and "Garment Jungle." It's from the SCRAP Negative Collection and appears on the Open SF History Project website. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding it in the collection.
Architect: The O'Brien Brothers and Wilbur D. Peugh designed the building. Vincent G. Raney did a 1952 remodel. MKThink did the 2008 renovations.
An image from the original plans. A set is in the Gary Parks collection. See seventeen images from the blueprints down at the bottom of the page.
A 1928 rendering for the project from the architects. It's from the Jack Tillmany collection. Gary Parks comments: "In this case, the facade ended up more ornate than in the rendering. And indeed, I wonder if that rooftop sign was ever built. The blueprints are no help in this department. The original marquee -- which reminds me a little of those on the Mayan and Belasco theatres in Los Angeles, is rendered wonderfully on the drawings, but no hint of a roof sign."
Jack adds: "Although architectural renderings don't always get it
right, my vague recollection is, yes it did indeed originally have a
roof sign at least somewhat like you see in the drawing, but so far,
vintage photos have proved to be elusive."
Seats: 1,050 originally in a stadium-style configuration. It was
958 later. It's now down to 264 + 85 for a total of 350, all upstairs.
E.B. Baron, formerly a manager for Publix, and Carol A. Nathan, a former Universal exchange manager, were the owners. The project was mentioned in the January 21, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World. Baron and Nathan later built the nearby Presidio Theatre.
A March 1931 calendar for the theatre from the Bruce Goldstein/Film Forum Collection. Thanks to Gary Meyer for posting it on the BAHT Facebook page.
Perhaps Baron and Nathan, supposedly the owners, sold both the Marina and the Presidio and did a leaseback. They didn't own the buildings in 1951 as noted in this October 4, 1951 item that Jack Tillmany found in the Examiner:
Gerald Hardy as the new operator didn't waste any time. He closed the Marina for remodeling on November 26, 1951. In a reopening day ad in the Examiner on February 8, 1952 he promised "...New carpets, drapes and beautiful black light murals to create the magic atmosphere of Hollywood...New Cyvloramic screen, the latest development in the theatre world -- eliminates glare, distortion and is easy on the eyes, and every seat is a good seat...The finest sound equipment and projection machines to reproduce the clearest picture possible...."
The theatre got an article in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald:
Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the item from his collection.
Motion Picture Herald gave the Marina a two page spread in the 1953-1954 Theatre Catalog:
Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the article from his collection.
The Marina, along with the Alexandria and the El Rey, was one of the trio of neighborhood houses to first get CinemaScope following the initial non-Market St. installation at the El Capitan in 1954. At the Marina the new screen had to go in front of the original proscenium and the sides of the image were cropped a bit.
The theatre was under Syufy management in 1965 when it was renamed Cinema 21 and became a first run house with 70mm capability. Its one and only roadshow engagement was "Hello, Dolly!" Jack Tillmany has the story:
"Gerald Hardy who was getting along in years, began selling off his theatres, and Marina fell into the hands of the Syufy chain, who changed the name to Cinema 21, raised the admission prices, and instituted a policy of exclusive first run attractions. This meant that anyone in San Francisco who wished to see a film playing at Cinema 21 had to travel there to do so; it would be shown nowhere else in the city. But there was no parking provided, and so visitors to the neighborhood circled blocks in search of parking places, much to the chagrin of the locals, who, in turn, deserted the theatre almost entirely because it now showed the same film for weeks, even months at a time, at uncomfortably higher prices, rather than change weekly as it once did.
"The new owners argued that Cinema 21 now served all of SF, not just the Marina District, true enough when a popular film landed there, but at what ultimate cost? Quite simple. One neighborhood theatre. Eventually, in order to get key films, which, as years went by, the film distributors wanted to get shown in as many theatres as possible, as quickly as possible, the Cinema 21’s days of running
films 'exclusively' ended, and it had to share first run titles with other similarly situated theatres all over San Francisco, thus diluting its returns, often below the profit line. Under these circumstances, it is surprising it held on as long as it did; it finally closed on September 20, 2001, but as a 'neighborhood' theatre, it would be more realistic to say that its life was over back in 1965 when it ceased being the Marina and reopened as Cinema 21."
It was rebuilt in 2008 with the main floor becoming a Walgreens and two small theatres upstairs. Reopening was May 2, with it again called the Marina Theatre. The building is owned by Ray Kalisky.
Status: Open as a first run house operated by Lee Family Theatres. Lee also has the nearby Presidio Theatre as well as the 4 Star.
Phone: 415-345-1323 Website: www.lntsf.com/marina
Interior views:
A lobby view that appeared with the article in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald where they commented: "The walls of the old lobby were completely replastered in green mosaic. The new doors are built of oak and maple, and the attraction board above them carries Wagner letters."
A March 1952 view from the back of the house from the Jack Tillmany collection. It's a photo that was given to him by the theatre's operator, Gerald Hardy.Gary Parks comments: "If you look carefully, you can just make out rectangles of wall mural which are a slightly different tone, just above the air registers. These are the screens which covered the original organ grilles. I never got to hear house organist, Larry Venucci, play here, but I did hear him a few times at the Stanford, doing overtures. Fantastic hot JAZZ playing on the organ. Unlike anything else I’ve heard."
A view down from the top with a slightly different angle. Yes, the murals were lit with black light. In the previous photo the organ console was up, here it's not. The photo appeared with the article in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald with the caption "New Heywood-Wakefield seats were installed in both the stadium and main floor of the auditorium."
Gary Parks comments: "You can see the little aimed light blisters for flooding the sidewall murals with UV light, to make them glow in the dark. The one time I saw a movie here, in the 90s -- 'Texasville,' about the kids from 'The Last Picture Show' when they were all grown up -- the walls were padded and draped for THX certification, but the gilded acanthus leaf light cove was there, as well as those simple metal-leafed and painted stripes going the length of the auditorium. The Longitudinal Section of the auditorium blueprints makes it very clear that the gilded acanthus leaf plasterwork of the ceiling light cove dates from the 20s. It is there, in its precisely-drawn glory, on the blueprints. The rest of the ornament—of which there was quite a lot—was stripped away."
A look to the rear of the house in March 1952. It's a photo given to Jack Tillmany by Gerald Hardy.
Another view to the rear of the house after the 1952 renovation. The photo appeared with the article in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald with the caption "Capacity of the remodeled Marina includes 364 seats in the stadium and 333 on the main floor."
A look across the lower seating section. Note the credit to theatre supply house B.F. Shearer at the bottom. It's a photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
The theatre's new CinemaScope screen in 1954. The photo is from the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments: "Yes, they cropped the sides a bit, but it was otherwise quite satisfactory for its time, and about the best they could do under the circumstances. A waterfall curtain was also installed."
A tiny but colorful auditorium view appearing on an "Updates" page from the San Francisco Neighborhood Theatre Foundation.
A mural detail from the SFNTF.
A view of the lobby in the rebuilt building appearing on the Lee Neighborhood Theatres website.
More exterior views:
The theatre in February 1947. The photo appeared with the article in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald. Gary Parks notes that the appearance of the marquee here is as it was drawn on the original blueprints. The photo also made an appearance in the 1953-1943 Theatre Catalog and is on Cinema Treasures.
A March 1952 view of the theatre after the renovations. They're running "Too Young to Kiss" and "Cloudburst," a bill that opened February 27. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the photo. It's another that was given to him by Gerald Hardy. When the photo appeared in the November 15, 1952 issue of Motion Picture Herald they noted that "The outmoded Spanish architecture of the old Marina has given way to the modern building...The theatre is in a residential area of San Francisco."
An April 1968 photo by Tom Gray from the Jack Tillmany collection. Gary Parks comments: "I see there are little original cast concrete ornaments atop the shallow and skinny niches just under the flag poles. They are not there now, and haven’t been there for a long time. I would guess that the only reason why someone would go to the trouble of removing them would be that a piece of one of them had spalled off."
A 1968 photo by Tom Gray of the theatre running "Rosemary's Baby." It's from the Jack Tillmany collection. It also appears on Cinema Treasures as a post of their contributor Trolleyguy.
A July 1975 photo by Tom Gray, taken on a gray summer day. It's in the collection of Jack Tillmany who asks: "Aren't those robins egg blue archways lovely?"
A 1986 look at the theatre while running "Extremities." Thanks to Jay Bee for the shot on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered.
The Cinema 21 in 1997. The photo is in the immense "Movie Theatres - USA" album of Ken Roe on Flickr.
A 2002 look at the theatre the year after Syufy had closed it. Thanks to John Rice for his photo on Cinema Treasures.
A 2017 view. The marquee at the other end of the building is the Walgreens entrance. Photo: Google Maps.
Images from plans for the building in the Gary Parks collection:
A title block from sheet #5.
Elevations of the east side and front of the building.
A closer look at the theatre entrance.
Another detail from the front elevation. Gary comments: "In the design of this marquee, I can’t help but see more than a
shade of the Mayan and Belasco theatres in Los Angeles."
A closer look at the retail spaces.
A plan of the ground floor.
A closer look at the auditorium from the ground floor plan.
A section view looking toward the stage.
A detail of the plasterwork in the house left corner of the proscenium.
An organ grille detail.
A view to the rear of the stadium-style auditorium.
At the very top it's a lobby wall elevation. We also get details of the seating risers. At the bottom it's a section through the full auditorium.
Two lobby wall elevations.
A detail from the section showing the lobby, upper level seating and booth.
A detail from the section showing the stage, pit, and front of the house right wall. Gary comments: "My one and only visit to see a movie at the Cinema 21
(Marina) was in the 1990s, for 'Texasville,' the sequel to 'The Last
Picture Show.' By that time, the 1950s murals had been completely
draped over, leaving only the original 1920s sculpted ceiling light cove
as the sole remnant of ornament in the auditorium. Well, almost. I
distinctly remember these wonderful paneled side exit doors were still
in place, though the ornament above them was long gone."
A side wall detail.
An exit door detail. Thanks, Gary!
More information: See the Marina Theatre page on Cinema Treasures.
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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