Hi Sturgeon – The posting for this theatre originally stated it was located in Pacific Manor. The reason for my post above was that theaters on CT are listed by city, not neighborhoods. BTW, I live nearby also (in SF).
This photo was taken at the intersection of Powell, Eddy and Market. The Owl Drug Company in the background became a Woolworths in 1952 and has been a Gap store since the late 90’s. The Tivoli Theater was located about 2/3 of a block away.
Walked by the Tower Theatre yesterday afternoon and saw a banner draped across the marquee announcing the Tower as the future Mission Cinema School. Found this link with photos and more details about the planned school:
Last July, 2015 I emailed THS about the lack of hyperlinks in these news stories. This is what I got back (in part):
“Thank you so much for reading the Cinema Treasures blog! I appreciate your email about links in the Cinema Treasures blog posts. Unfortunately the website blog editor does not permit the addition of hyperlinks. We do not know why exactly, but are working behind the scenes to make the links more user friendly. For now, highlighting the text and right clicking will open the links in the posts.”
Thanks for the reply hdtv267…I noticed that the post I left recently about the Balboa’s sound system was deleted and then incorporated into the overview so at the very least the info I posted is being used in a positive way, despite the censoring of quite a few people’s comments over a 2 year period. BTW, I have deleted my last post on the Lincoln Sq page. I made my point and apparently that page is now a free for all so would rather just avoid it rather than read through the silly “when will they install Imax?"comments week after week. Sounds like a bunch of 12 year olds.
I will leave the email issue to someone else to pursue. I don’t want to spend any more time with it. If functioning email addresses is too much for them to handle…….
I have tried to email the “CT group” at some of their various email addresses listed on this site regarding spam in these news posts in the past and also to ask what happened to 2 years of comments on the Balboa Theatre (SF) page that were deleted and every single email came back as undeliverable. ??? In fact several SF theatre pages on this site no longer have any comments between 2012 and 2016. What gives?
The city this demolished theater was located in is Pacifica, California 94044, not Pacific Manor. According to the city of Pacifica’s website Pacific Manor is a shopping district (or neighborhood) of Pacifica which has 11 shopping districts.
IMO bigjoe59, yes, on a large screen and a great sound system it does enhance the experience and that is what you are paying extra for – a better presentation. At a 3D screening of Gravity I attended in SF it was presented in a large auditorium on a big screen with a Dolby Atmos sound system. Of course they charged more for it ($19) than the tiny screening room down the hall with regular Dolby ($12). The experience was immersive and quite a ride. Just as 50+ years ago you would expect to pay more for South Pacific or Oklahoma being shown in ToddAO with great stereo sound than a standard 35 mm showing. Theaters without 3D, IMAX ect that have the capacity to do a premium presentation (including curtains, proper masking and good sound) seem to be rare these days. Top price here in SF for Star Wars in IMAX 3D is $21.
Whatever is happening with the Wigwam/Crown/Cine Latino still looks stalled 2 full years after Woody London’s 2 photos were uploaded showing about the same progress as the photo I took yesterday. What does seem clear though is that any vestige of the theater (other than the side walls) is completely gone. By typing in the address on the online SF Building Inspection Permit/Complaint page there appears to be no details for building permits other than 1 that was issued in 2007 although on 3-2-2015 someone lodged a complaint over steel beams being added disturbing neighbors at 3-4am every night when no noise permit had been applied for.
Added 17 new exterior and interior photos – all taken 1-1-16.
Saw Star Wars in 3D in theater #1. Nice big screen and excellent sound with equally excellent 3D projected on a Sony 4K system.
Wondering what the ambient noise level would be like since food is served at your seat and was gratified to see it was kept at an absolute minimum. The back of my seat though got banged a few times by servers as they scurried by.
Also before the movie started a short video announced that the auditorium was a text free, talk free space and that if you violated that rule you would be thrown out. They also played a cell phone message from a disgruntled patron who had been ejected which was hilarious.
The theater (and auditorium #1) looked great – curtains and masking were used. Alamo did a fine job on the renovation of the New Mission.
I’ve added 4 new photos – 3 exteriors showing the wider sidewalks and tile work in front of the theater and a long shot taken from an apartment balcony on Twin Peaks showing the bulk of the theater from above.
Star Wars Episode VII will be the first attraction at the Alamo’s New Mission when it opens Dec 17. The first few days of showings are already sold out.
As I recall the last time I was in the Empire (one of the upstairs theaters – Bad Education – that’s how long ago it was) the auditorium seating was cramped and the seats not aligned properly with the screen forcing you to look somewhat towards your shoulder to see the screen. The downstairs auditorium is fine. The theater is close to the West Portal Metro station which makes it fairly easy to get to.
I was looking for photos of Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s recently and came across this wonderful website – Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photo Collection – which has 8 pages of photos of the Chinese Theater from construction to late 1970’s:
Vintage News
Here is the link to the article (with some pictures) about the beginning of the demo and what will be built on the Market St Cinema site:
UA
I google street viewed the address (825 Kearny). After enlarging it the numbers 825 are visible above the entry doors of the World Ginseng Center.
Nice shot and a big thank you for all the great photos you’ve submitted.
Hi Sturgeon – The posting for this theatre originally stated it was located in Pacific Manor. The reason for my post above was that theaters on CT are listed by city, not neighborhoods. BTW, I live nearby also (in SF).
This photo was taken at the intersection of Powell, Eddy and Market. The Owl Drug Company in the background became a Woolworths in 1952 and has been a Gap store since the late 90’s. The Tivoli Theater was located about 2/3 of a block away.
alpinedownhiller….Left off your list….SF’s Metreon 16 IMAX screen is the same size as Lincoln Sq 13 – 75X97
WSJ article
Walked by the Tower Theatre yesterday afternoon and saw a banner draped across the marquee announcing the Tower as the future Mission Cinema School. Found this link with photos and more details about the planned school:
Tower
rsalters and Khnemu:
Last July, 2015 I emailed THS about the lack of hyperlinks in these news stories. This is what I got back (in part):
“Thank you so much for reading the Cinema Treasures blog! I appreciate your email about links in the Cinema Treasures blog posts. Unfortunately the website blog editor does not permit the addition of hyperlinks. We do not know why exactly, but are working behind the scenes to make the links more user friendly. For now, highlighting the text and right clicking will open the links in the posts.”
Thanks for the reply hdtv267…I noticed that the post I left recently about the Balboa’s sound system was deleted and then incorporated into the overview so at the very least the info I posted is being used in a positive way, despite the censoring of quite a few people’s comments over a 2 year period. BTW, I have deleted my last post on the Lincoln Sq page. I made my point and apparently that page is now a free for all so would rather just avoid it rather than read through the silly “when will they install Imax?"comments week after week. Sounds like a bunch of 12 year olds.
I will leave the email issue to someone else to pursue. I don’t want to spend any more time with it. If functioning email addresses is too much for them to handle…….
I have tried to email the “CT group” at some of their various email addresses listed on this site regarding spam in these news posts in the past and also to ask what happened to 2 years of comments on the Balboa Theatre (SF) page that were deleted and every single email came back as undeliverable. ??? In fact several SF theatre pages on this site no longer have any comments between 2012 and 2016. What gives?
The city this demolished theater was located in is Pacifica, California 94044, not Pacific Manor. According to the city of Pacifica’s website Pacific Manor is a shopping district (or neighborhood) of Pacifica which has 11 shopping districts.
IMO bigjoe59, yes, on a large screen and a great sound system it does enhance the experience and that is what you are paying extra for – a better presentation. At a 3D screening of Gravity I attended in SF it was presented in a large auditorium on a big screen with a Dolby Atmos sound system. Of course they charged more for it ($19) than the tiny screening room down the hall with regular Dolby ($12). The experience was immersive and quite a ride. Just as 50+ years ago you would expect to pay more for South Pacific or Oklahoma being shown in ToddAO with great stereo sound than a standard 35 mm showing. Theaters without 3D, IMAX ect that have the capacity to do a premium presentation (including curtains, proper masking and good sound) seem to be rare these days. Top price here in SF for Star Wars in IMAX 3D is $21.
An exterior facelift appears to be in progress. Photo added.
Whatever is happening with the Wigwam/Crown/Cine Latino still looks stalled 2 full years after Woody London’s 2 photos were uploaded showing about the same progress as the photo I took yesterday. What does seem clear though is that any vestige of the theater (other than the side walls) is completely gone. By typing in the address on the online SF Building Inspection Permit/Complaint page there appears to be no details for building permits other than 1 that was issued in 2007 although on 3-2-2015 someone lodged a complaint over steel beams being added disturbing neighbors at 3-4am every night when no noise permit had been applied for.
Added 17 new exterior and interior photos – all taken 1-1-16. Saw Star Wars in 3D in theater #1. Nice big screen and excellent sound with equally excellent 3D projected on a Sony 4K system. Wondering what the ambient noise level would be like since food is served at your seat and was gratified to see it was kept at an absolute minimum. The back of my seat though got banged a few times by servers as they scurried by. Also before the movie started a short video announced that the auditorium was a text free, talk free space and that if you violated that rule you would be thrown out. They also played a cell phone message from a disgruntled patron who had been ejected which was hilarious. The theater (and auditorium #1) looked great – curtains and masking were used. Alamo did a fine job on the renovation of the New Mission.
The New Mission’s status should be changed to Open.
Another SF Chronicle article on the New Mission’s opening next week.
I’ve added 4 new photos – 3 exteriors showing the wider sidewalks and tile work in front of the theater and a long shot taken from an apartment balcony on Twin Peaks showing the bulk of the theater from above.
Star Wars Episode VII will be the first attraction at the Alamo’s New Mission when it opens Dec 17. The first few days of showings are already sold out.
SF Gate – New Mission
As I recall the last time I was in the Empire (one of the upstairs theaters – Bad Education – that’s how long ago it was) the auditorium seating was cramped and the seats not aligned properly with the screen forcing you to look somewhat towards your shoulder to see the screen. The downstairs auditorium is fine. The theater is close to the West Portal Metro station which makes it fairly easy to get to.
I was looking for photos of Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s recently and came across this wonderful website – Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photo Collection – which has 8 pages of photos of the Chinese Theater from construction to late 1970’s:
Chinese Theater
I’ve added 3 black and white photos taken in August 1977.
Photo taken in August 1977.
Photo taken in August 1977.