Coronet Theatre

3575 Geary Boulevard,
San Francisco, CA 94118

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Showing 51 - 75 of 142 comments

JimC
JimC on July 2, 2007 at 8:40 pm

Demolition began tody on the CORONET. Not much too see yet. Most of the work today was knocking down the gas station next door which is part of the project. But they did knock a huge hole in the side of the theater so they could get fork lift trucks and pnumatic drills inside to begin interior demolition. The big wrecking ball will come any day now. I took some pictures and will continue to document the demolition an hopefully will be able to post them somewhere for all to see.
FYI> I was able to get inside the CORONET about a month ago. (Legally!) I took about 50pictures on that day. The owner also let us “scavenger hunt”, as there was still lots of usable items inside.
We managed to recycle many items from the projection booth and concession area, including two working ice cream freezers, which have all been put to good use at the nearby BALBOA theater in San Francisco. -JC-

Coate
Coate on May 7, 2007 at 2:31 am

Has anyone read the new “Making Of Star Wars” book? I think the book overall is fantastic and a must-read for any fan, but contained within is some erroneous information pertaining to the post-production and distribution of the film. In particular, one glaring error appears in regard to the CORONET.

To summarize, there was some controversy surrounding “Star Wars” being pulled by court order to accommodate a booking of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.” The book’s author, however, erroneously claims that the matter was settled by having “Close Encounters” play at the NORTHPOINT while “Star Wars” stayed at the CORONET. This, of course, is not how the matter was resolved.

“Star Wars” was sent out for re-bid and wound up a week later at the CINEMA 21; “Close Encounters” did in fact play the CORONET; “The Goodbye Girl” played the NORTHPOINT at that time.

I found the error humorous considering the author singled out the CORONET no doubt due to its proximity to the headquarters of the company that produced the movie and for the many historical links between “Star Wars” and the city of San Francisco.

(1) Lucasfilm Ltd. for many years was based in Marin County, just a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, the company is based in San Francisco. (2) San Francisco is the city in which “Star Wars” was test-screened. (3) The CORONET was among the original theatres chosen to play the movie. (4) The CORONET had the highest boxoffice gross of the theatres in the U.S. that played the film during 1977.

You’d think that error would not have slipped through!

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on March 9, 2007 at 1:57 pm

**** the Institute on Aging.

gunrob
gunrob on February 17, 2007 at 4:31 pm

I remember seeing Camelot at the Coronet. We four couples drove up from San Jose. We all marveled at the beauty of the theatre which was so different from what we were used to. The experience turned out to be a very special night out for us in the 1960s.

Eric
Eric on January 26, 2007 at 8:14 am

R.I.P. :–(

At least the Alexandria is still standing, (as far as I know).

JimC
JimC on January 26, 2007 at 8:02 am

Barring further last minute legal challenges, The Coronet Theater building is scheduled to be demolished in April 2007.

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on January 4, 2007 at 9:58 pm

Unbelievable bullshit that this place is being taken apart. There is no sophisticated way to describe it.

JimC
JimC on December 28, 2006 at 7:36 am

Interior demolition of the Coronet apparantly began about 2 weeks ago. A huge debris box has been set up in the parking lot next to the theater and scaffolding has been erected inside. I have seen workers dumping wheelbarrows full of plaster & tile into the debris box and as I was passing there one day last week I saw them hauling out huge rolls of carpet that had been ripped out of the interior. -JimC-

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 27, 2006 at 6:45 pm

Here is a July 2000 article about the possible demolition of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/y6xfwe

JimC
JimC on September 20, 2006 at 1:46 pm

The Coronet saga goes on.
You can read the latest news (Sept 2006) here:

View link

0119188
0119188 on September 14, 2006 at 11:47 pm

Thursday, I was in Berkeley in an architectual salvage yard, and two of the coronet’s glass fronted movie poster display cases were for sale. I guess parts of the Coronet will live on elsewhere…

ANTKNEE
ANTKNEE on July 12, 2006 at 10:13 am

The theater is still standing (as of last week anyway) and the marquee says something about it being the future home of the senior center who owns it.

That’s one movie I don’t want to see.

jvbrennan
jvbrennan on July 11, 2006 at 8:06 pm

All of eleven years old I saw BEN-HUR at the Coronet in the Spring of 1960. Traveled alone by public transit all the way from East Oakland to see it. To this day the best movie experience ever. The lead up to the break for Intermission and the accompanying music was exquisite. Drama & score marriage has never been outdone. Hollywood pulled out all the stops on this one. I tip my hat to you Coronet for knowing how to put on a show. When that huge red curtain closed and I walked out of the theater that day in 1960 the Coronet would indelibly be etched in my memory forever. Goodbye old friend.

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on June 15, 2006 at 10:02 pm

Is the theatre still sitting there?

segask
segask on June 15, 2006 at 9:42 pm

how many subwoofers did it have?

Steve2
Steve2 on April 27, 2006 at 11:20 pm

Indeed. Tearing down a single screen theater in ANY neighborhood is tragic.

I think that neighborhood did not get involved to protest or fight to save the Coronet theater.

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on April 27, 2006 at 8:41 pm

What a bunch of $#*&

Tear down decrepit theatres in ghetto neighborhoods that are about to fall over. But don’t mess around with one that is well-maintained and does good business. You can build a freakin' senior center anywere.

I shouldn’t post comments of this nature. But it REALLY pisses me off.

Hibi
Hibi on March 9, 2006 at 8:53 am

Valuable real estate. Sad. At least the Coronet didnt undergo the indignity of being multiplexed itself. I’ve read about this theater for years………

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on March 8, 2006 at 5:23 pm

Pretty ridicuous situation. It could be argued that theatres which have decayed to the point of being dangerous (like Detroit’s United Artists) should probably be torn down. But nobody can argue about those that are in good repair and still have significant ticket sales. My guess is that it all comes down to someone paying someone else a lot of money. Such is usually the case.

geogenes
geogenes on March 8, 2006 at 1:58 pm

Yes..those are very nice theaters, but the only one still showing first run films is the UA Metro.

William
William on March 8, 2006 at 1:49 pm

And the wonderful Castro Theatre too.

William
William on March 8, 2006 at 1:47 pm

Don’t forget the city still has the Orpheum, Golden Gate and the Warfield Theatres. Ok they found renewed life with stage shows and concerts, their still around and open.

RetroFan
RetroFan on March 8, 2006 at 1:07 pm

THE PLACE to see the first-run blockbuster. How I bragged about this theater to everyone I knew when I first moved to San Francisco. Little by little, I made them all watch a movie here and they all ask about it. I had to break the news to them. My parents are still upset it’s closed and when they visit me, they no longer want to see a movie in the city. Even they know all we have left is…shoeboxes. That’s because the city has lost a jewel of first-run programming. The closing of this theater was the last straw for me. After my problems with the new multiplexes and with no place decent to see a first-run Hollywood film, I have officially stopped going.
This theater had such great sound and going here was what movie watching was all about. Everyone got along here! No cellphone problems! No tough-talking guetto youths staring you down as you walked by! It was this city’s last civilized, classy first-run theater. They’re gone. Over.