The Kearny Cinema

1030 Kearny St. | map |

The building is on the east side of the street between Pacific and Broadway. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this c.1976 photo by Tom Gray that's in his collection. 

Opening: Sort of hard to say. The building was the location of the original Il Trovatore Restaurant. It was a gradual slide in the 60s and 70s from restaurant to cocktail lounge with girls and movies to something branded as the Kearny Cinema.

 

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this 1943 image by an unknown photographer. The Camel Club at 1034 Kearny was later the home of the North Beach Movie. 

 

 

It was called Bunny Simon's in 1966. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this February 19 ad and the others seen on the page. He comments:

 

"Apparently it pioneered the concept of serving both boobs and booze, along with boots and bondage, which soon blossomed onto Broadway and became a North Beach way of life."

 

 

A March 5, 1966 ad.

 

 

It was next called The Jungle offering the Snake Dance and free movies. The ad is from March 29, 1969. 

"Vivid French Films." Later the venue was renamed the '69 Expo. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the 1969 photo by Tom Gray.  

 

 

An August 10, 1970 ad for the '69 Expo, an "Adult Theater & Cocktail Lounge."

 

A c.1972 photo by Clay Geerdes with the theatre still called the '69 Expo. Note that by the time of the photo the "Cocktails" word on the sign had been blacked out. 

 

 

"Movies $2.50 - Free Peek." It's a c.1973 photo by Tom Gray from the Jack Tillmany collection.

 

 

 

Rebranded as the Kearny Cinema. This ad is from August 18, 1974.

A 1975 photo by Tom Gray from the Jack Tillmany collection.

 

 

A December 5, 1975 ad.  

 

An April 30, 1977 ad. 

 

 

A May 7, 1977 ad.  Thanks for locating all the ads, Jack!

 

 

Thanks to Jonathan Orovitz for sharing this September 1983 photo he took.  

Looking south on Kearny from Broadway in January 1984. It's a photo by Jonathan Orovitz, one of eight North Beach night views he shared in a 2022 post on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. Thanks, Jonathan! 

 

On the left it's the North Beach Movie running "Hungry Slave Girls" and "Forced Submission." That's the Kearny Cinema beyond. On the right it's the future Lusty Lady with the dark signage of the Palladium Club beyond. Jack Tillmany comments about the Kearny Cinema:

 

"Its identity as a film theatre seemed to fade away after 1984 after which it soldiered on as an adult video, magazine and toy store." 

 

Closing: As late as April 2011 it was called Kearny Adult Video. At that time they had signage in the window saying "Preview Theaters! See Any Movie!"

 

Status: The building's ground floor is now the home of a boutique called Secrets. It's been using that name since at least 2013.

 

 

Secrets as a tenant in 2021. The lower floor of the former North Beach Movie to the left is now home to the non-profit organization North Beach Citizen. Photo: Google Maps

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.  

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