Gate Theater
668 Bridgeway Avenue,
Sausalito,
CA
94965
668 Bridgeway Avenue,
Sausalito,
CA
94965
2 people
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Here’s an Article about The Gate Theater from the Website “Our Sausalito”: The Gate Theatre — Located at 668 Bridgeway in Sausalito in a spot now occupied by an art gallery, this movie theatre was built as the Princess Theatre (being near Princess St.) and was renamed the Gate in honor of the new Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930’s. By 1953 it had come under the control of the Blumenfeld family, who over time acquired most of the movie houses in the County. As television sets became standard features of American homes movie attendance dropped and The Gate was closed in favor of the nearby Marin Theatre (now Cinearts at Marin, a modernized three-screen facility), also then owned by the Blumenfelds. Some stage productions were still held at The Gate through the mid-60’s, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe called the place home in 1965. The Grateful Dead played there at least once in the mid-1960’s.
I have to admit that I was very wrong when I posted my previous comment. The “modern building” I referred to has been there since the late 30s, and the Gate theater was actually in the very old building to the left of it.
Here’s a picture of The Gate Theater from the 1950’s. http://gallery.me.com/jason.lewis/100678/slide991/web.jpg
I adjusted the Google Street View of what the then Gate Theater is now for you. I went to The Gate Theater when I was kid. We lived in Sausalito. It was really cool inside. It was a small Movie Theater, but it had a lot of cute features.
Something’s a little wrong with the 668 Bridgeway address. In the 1948 movie, “Impact” there’s a scene filmed further up Bridgeway, where the square borders it. The Gate Theater is clearly visible in the background, on the left side of the street. I think the theater stood where the oddly shaped modern building is now, the last building on the left, at the t-bone intersection of Bridgeway and Princess. The building I’m referring to is occupied by the store, “Jewelry by the Bay”.
I found additional Boxoffice references to the Gate Theatre, as well as a few non-Boxoffice mentions. The July 17, 1954, issue repeated that the Gate had been closed, and said that plans for its modernization had been discarded.
Then in the issue of December 4, 1961, there was an item saying that Diane Varsi, retired from her Hollywood film career, was making her theatrical debut and directing two short plays at the Sausalito Gate Theatre.
The Gate was apparently a playhouse for several years. I found a reference to the San Francisco Mime Troupe performing a Brecht play at the Gate in 1965, and one about actor George Ede playing Antonio in a production of “The Merchant of Venice” at the Gate in 1964.
Thinking about jerry kovar’s introductory paragraph, I suspect that the reason attraction board lettering on the Gate’s marquee said “Marin Theatre” when the signage said Gate in the 1955 photo is most likely that the Gate was closed and its attraction board was being used to advertise the Marin Theatre.
The October 24, 1953, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the Gate Theatre had been closed by the Blumenfeld circuit. I found a 1945 Boxoffice item mentioning the Marin Theatre, and the Gate Theatre was also in operation at that time, so they were different theaters. Both houses were operated by Blumenfeld. It’s unlikely that Marin Theater is an actual aka for the Gate Theatre.
Okay, thanks again Ken. If I find anymore theaters I’ll let you know.
lostmemory;
It’s listed as X 1 & 2, Hollywood, CA.
/theaters/8436/
Thanks Ken. I don’t want to overwork you but I have one more theater. I don’t know what to make of this one. Its called the X Theater. I’m not sure if it was X-rated or were all the good theater names in L.A. already taken and the owner settled for “X”. Here is a link with a photo and an address:
View link
lostmemory;
Yet another one added to the list!
I also found another Calif. theater that I don’t see listed here unless it is under another name. It is the Guild Theater located at 2830 35th Street in Sacramento, CA. The Guild was recently renovated and is open as a movie/live theater. I believe that it first opened around 1915. Maybe you can find more info on it and add it here.
I have just added it, so it should be on-site soon. It is also listed with some pics here… http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=3009
There is a Marin theater in Sausalito that is still open. It is a Century theater. I don’t know if its the same Marin that you mentioned Ken. I don’t see it listed on C.T. either. Here is the address:
101 Caledonia Street
Sausalito, CA 94965
The Sausalito history link given above by MagicLantern gives an opening date of 1915 as the Princess Theatre with a street address of 668 Bridgeway Ave, Sausalito,CA. It was re-named the Gate Theatre in the 1930’s (in honour of the newly built Golden Gate Bridge).
It is still listed as the Gate in 1952, but in both the 1950 and 1952 Film Daily Yearbook’s there is a larger 604 seat Marin Theatre also listed. The address of the Marin is given as Pine and Caledonia Street’s
Film Daily Yearbook’s give a seating capacity for the Gate as 325.
It’s now an art gallery – http://www.galerieelektra.com/about.html
This theatre was located at 668 Bridgeway; a photograph of the facade as it stands today can be found here: View link