Opening: This venue on the north side of Potrero Hill opened around 1913, originally called the Alta Theatre. The building is on the west side of the street a bit south of 18th. It was renamed the New Potrero in 1930 and was equipped for sound at that time. The 1950s photo from the Jack Tillmany collection appears on the San Francisco Public Library website.
Jack relates that it was a true Mom & Pop operation. Mom sold the tickets while Pop ran the projectors. And they probably both cleaned the place after the last show. It had a tiny lobby with no snack bar -- only a couple of vending machines. There was no newspaper advertising but a monthly calendar kept the customers informed.
Seating: 300, all on a single level.
Closing: It closed as a film house in 1963. Customers also called it the Flea House. It was used by the Grateful Dead as a rehearsal hall c.1968. It was later purchased by the the San Francisco Gurdjieff Society, a group still in the building.
Status: It's been converted into office space. Jack calls it "a neighborhood artifact of the long distant past when such a humble operation was not only feasible but profitable."
A June 1965 photo from Edward Millington Stout III. It's in the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments:
"The photo was taken when Stout was contemplating taking over the vacant space and installing a Mighty WurliTzer, which he eventually succeeded in doing instead at the Avenue Theatre. Notice the old box office which had been saved (at least for a while) and stored in the auditorium."
More exterior views:
The theatre in 1937 with a double bill of "One in a Million" with Sonja Henie and "Country Gentleman." The image, from a home movie, is on the site "What Was There." Jack Tillmany comments:
"That was Sonja Henie's USA film debut film and launched her Hollywood career at 20th Century-Fox. The event is a religious procession, possibly observing Easter, from nearby St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church around the corner on 19th Street."
A June 1965 photo taken by Ed Stout that's in the Jack Tillmany collection. Jack comments:
"This photo and the two below were taken by Edward Millington Stout III when he was considering upgrading the shut-down site to house his WurliTzer Organ, but eventually chose the Avenue Theatre instead."
A June 1965 photo by Ed Stout.
A June 1965 photo by Ed Stout.
A 1966 photo taken by Jack Tillmany.
Another 1966 shot by Jack Tillmany. Thanks, Jack!
A 1968 photo of the Grateful Dead using the theatre for rehearsal space. Jerry Garcia is to the right of the flower. It's from the Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. It appears in the Arcadia Publishing book "Potrero Hill" by Peter Linenthal and Abigail Johnston. It's also on the "What Was There" page about the neighborhood.
The theatre in "Trail of the Serpent," a 1973 episode of "Streets of San Francisco."
Another shot from the 1973 "Streets of San Francisco" episode. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for doing the screenshots for a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
A photo that appeared with "Potrero Hill brick hall seeks rescuer," a 2013 S.F. Gate article about the owner at the time, the San Francisco Gurdjieff Society, looking for a purchaser who would then do a lease-back. Thanks to Patrick Carroll for spotting the story, which features three interior photos.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures and Cinema Tour pages about the theatre.
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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