Presidio Theatre

2340 Chestnut Street,
San Francisco, CA 94123

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Presidio Theatre (Official)

Additional Info

Operated by: Lee Neighborhood Theatres

Previously operated by: Century Theatres

Architects: John H. Ahnden

Functions: Movies (First Run)

Styles: Streamline Moderne

Previous Names: El Presidio Theatre

Phone Numbers: Box Office: 415.776.2388
Manager: 415.776.2988

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News About This Theater

Presidio Auditorium Fixture

The 828-seat Presidio Theatre opened on July 1, 1937 as the El Presidio Theatre, a last run movie house. In the 1990’s, it became a first run showplace.

It was closed as a single screen theatre on August 15, 2003 with Joaquin Phoenix in “Buffalo Soldiers”. The Presidio Theatre reopened December 25, 2004 as a four screener. The former orchestra seating has the original screen. The auditorium’s sheetmetal sunburst chandelier was removed in the transition. The former balcony has two 100-seat, stadium seated auditoriums. The fourth screen is an additional screening room. It is operated by Lee Neighborhood Theatres.

Contributed by Juan-Miguel Gallegos

Recent comments (view all 32 comments)

theauteur
theauteur on February 20, 2009 at 9:06 pm

I am watching D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back with the director’s commentary on, and they mention that this film was hard to distribute when it first came out. Pennebaker mostly played the film on his one and only 16mm print of it at schools and colleges while he tried to figure out what to do with it. Then someone from the Art Theaters Guild approached him about screening it at the Presidio in San Francisco which at the time was in bad shaped playing pornography. The film then sort of premiered here before being made a 35mm print and screening in NYC.

darquil
darquil on April 25, 2010 at 2:31 am

I’ve posted information and photos from a recent visit here.

Mikeyisirish
Mikeyisirish on June 26, 2012 at 3:00 pm

A 2011 photo can be seen here.

Bobbalt
Bobbalt on July 30, 2016 at 11:17 pm

Rare news footage from KPIX Channel 5 (San Francisco) covering the first San Francisco Erotic Film Festival at the Presidio, 12/2/1970. Link below courtesy of the Bay Area Television Archive. https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/190447

rivest266
rivest266 on June 27, 2022 at 8:33 am

Deep Throat opened here on July 28th, 1972. Ad posted.

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on March 17, 2025 at 6:50 pm

Please fix website link to https://www.lntsf.com/

and the chain is Lee Neighborhood Theatre

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on March 18, 2025 at 1:19 am

Please update, total seats 480

Theatre 1 250

Theatre 2 100

Theatre 3 100

Theatre 4 30

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on January 4, 2026 at 9:50 am

Once operated by Century Theatres. Closed as a single-screener on August 15, 2003 with “Buffalo Soldiers”.

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