Rafael Film Center

The Rafael was built in 1920 as the first run movie house Orpheus. It was enlarged and a new screen was added in 1926. After a 1937 fire gutted the victorian style auditorium it was remodeled in the art deco style and reopened as a second run movie house. It even served time in the 1960s as a Disney Family Theater. It was heavily damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and was closed. In 1998 the majority of it was gutted with half of the building being demolished. It was rebuilt as a triplex in 1999 and shows art and foreign films.

I'm sure you've been told by now that the Rafael Theater is in San Rafael, which is 11 miles north of Mill Valley. The Sequoia theater, an equally interesting edifice, is in Mill Valley. I wonder how accurate your other entries are...
==Will Davis

Our entries are as accurate as our fans make them, so thanks for correcting our mistake!

I've updated the Rafael's location with the correct city. If you get a chance to add the Sequoia Theater, that would be great! :)

I attended this beautifully-restored Art Deco masterpiece of a movie theater in June 2000 for a special 80th Birthday retrospective celebration for cinema animation genius Ray Harryhausen, who was the guest of honor, along with Dennis Muren of Lucasfilm-ILM, who fielded questions from the audience about Ray's cinematic techniques. The two movies shown on the new screen were "7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) in beautiful Technicolor.

A Day to remember, and celebrate the new life of this grand moderne theater - a worthy residence for the Film Institute of Northern California. It was great to see Ray Harryhausen in person once again!

The Rafael has been open for a many years now after being restored and rebuilt. It is used as an art house. The balcony was removed and a new theatre was built in its place. Part of the building was demolished so that a 3rd theatre could be created.

I love the Rafael Theater - and am worried about what might happen
when the Century Circuit builds their new downtown 12plex which will
also be playing art films. Does anyone know the status of that construction?

The Century theatre you refer to was not slated to play art films, but was going to feature mainstream film fare, and their proposal was endorsed by the Film Institute that operates the Rafael Theatre as a positive contribution to Downtown San Rafael as a film center. However, after concerns surfaced over the possible traffic and parking impact on downtown, San Rafael-based Century Theatres agreed to hold off pursuing their plans until these issues can, if possible, be settled to everyone's satisfaction. While Century's proposal received the city's blessing and could be revisited in the future, it has, for all practicle purposes been abandoned at this time.

That's wonderful news - that Century's proposal has been abandoned.
Hopefully - it will stay that way - as that theater chain cannot be
trusted. They're building CINEARTS complexes all over Northern CA
in upscale markets. SAN RAFAEL fits the bill - and the owners live
in your own backyard. You all have worked too hard and long to re-establish the arts with your historic venue to have it injured financially by Century Theatres.

LarryS - That's a little harsh.
First of all, Century Theatres has "built" only two (with a third in the works) CineArts theatres in the recent past - at Santana Row in San Jose and in Sacramento (the third is planned to replace an existing CineArts in Pleasant Hill). Hardly "all over" Northern California! Upscale communities? Yes, because that is where the people with both the the interest in supporting these venues and the disposable income to do it regularly live now. None of these communities could have been previously considered "hot beds" of art film. Century is bring these communities something that they didn't previously have, for the most part. The days of having to drive to an urban center like SF for art films is passing quickly - and at the current cost of gas and bridge fares, thank goodness.
Three of the other four Bay Area CineArts were being operated as "art houses" before Century took them over in 2001, and, I might add, long before the Film Institute reopened the Rafael Film Center (the Sequoia in Mill Valley, the Marin in Sausalito and the Palo Alto Square near Stanford U. on the SF peninsula - the fourth, the Empire in SF was converted from a sub-run house to an art house a couple of years ago). They just continued the booking policies for these theatres under the CineArts moniker.
Also, having been involved in the hearings and personally knowing the Syufy brothers who run Century, I can assure you they had no intention of a Downtown San Rafael theatre having CineArts screens. In fact, part of the reason they got the endorsement from the California Film Institute for the Downtown complex was their assurance that the theatre was not being considered as an art film venue. Their intent was to balance out the distribution of mainstream films offered in Marin and to contribute to the vitality of Downtown San Rafael as a cultural and entertainment center for Marin County.
Most of the mainstream screens are currently located in Northern Marin. Their desire was to make mainstream films more accessible in Central and Southern Marin and present them in a state of the art, modern theatre (possibly closing some of the aging north county multiplex screens they inherited from Pacific Theatres in the process).
In addition, Century and the Film Institute have a good ongoing relationship, annually co-hosting the institute's Mill Valley Film Festival. This is a valuable partnership for both Century and the Institute, and since Century operates the only theatre in Mill Valley, it could hardly remain the "Mill Valley Film Festival" without their mutual cooperation.

Here is a night view of the Rafael Theater.

This is another photo of the Rafael Film Center.

A more recent photo of the Rafael Film Center can be seen here.

This is another recent photo of the Rafael Film Center.

Lots of changes since David's last post. Cinemark has purchased the Century Cimemas chain. The California Film Institute (owners of The Rafael) have purchased the Sequoia in Mill Valley and there does not seem to be any plans for a downtown San Rafael multi-plex.

Here is the Rafael at night.

Here is the Rafael in 1980 and 1986:
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This is another photo of the Rafael at night.