Market Street Cinema
1077 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94103
1077 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94103
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 52 comments found
Yup, it is closed. The website now goes to a splash page for something called “G-string Horror”, a ‘horror’ movie with ties to that theatre and also the “ghosts” alleged to be there in.
I too hope it’s able to find some new life- as a theatre.
Might it be time for the Alamo Drafthouse people to start looking at a 2nd location for San Francisco? This location being right in the thick of downtown would be perfect than the Mission location of the proposed venue and light a fire under the Metreon and Van Ness.
Only if someone out there knew someone with that company. Maybe next time some photos?
The old United Artists aka Market Street Cinema is now CLOSED. Was by the old locked up gated old palace today (4/29/2013) that at one time ran 70mm roadshows like Sound Of Music, Lawrence, Patton, The Bible and so many more. They had a big flat screen not curved but advertised they had Todd AO. The booth was a very long distance to the screen. When the porn girl gang took over the lease they put in a false ceiling. Now today I talked to the two remaining stores in the theatre building on the right and left side and they have not been given any close or vacate notice. I don’t think this old movie theatre is going to be torn down. It’s almost across and down the street from the Cinerama Orpheum Theatre that is to play the musical Mary Popins soon. Heard a rumor that another Chinese restaurant will move in the UA space? To bad the ACT people didn’t wait as the UA is a larger theatre then the Strand Theatre they may take over down the street If they get the funds. It’s time for the SHUBERTS to look into this old large Market Street theatre and give the Neederlanders some compition in San Francisco. Who ever takes over the theatre we hope they re paint the front as the bold RED and DARK BLUE outside paint is bad news.
Is the Market Street Cinema haunted? The folks from “Ghost Adventures” check this out on the episode that aired first on 3/1/13 and I’m sure will be running off quite a bit on the Travel Channel. Check the local listings in your region.
I’m not a believer (personally) but there’s alot of great tidbits about the history of this great venue, how the strip club now just in housed in part of the old Imperial theatre. Check this show out ( or place out in the City of Saint Francis, should your proclivities go that route)
My Fair Lady played a long reserved seat engagement at the Coronet out on Geary Blvd. Long reserved seat engagements at the United Artists included West Side Story, Lawrence of Arabia and The Sound of Music, among others.
Sad to see what this theater has become. Didnt My Fair Lady play here? You’d never know it now!
A 1931 remodeling of the Imperial for the United Artists chain was the work of the Los Angeles architectural firm of Walker & Eisen, with Clifford Balch, associated. The project was reported in the April 17 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor that year.
Now that I look at the recent pictures of the theater’s facade and the sketch, it looks to me that the theater did get at least a version of the proposed new marquee (though it seems flatter than that in the sketch), but not the panels above, especially the arched ones with the lanterns. They probably would look dated now, but would still be an improvement over all that blue blahness and that section now painted red from the theater’s original entryway.
Thanks Cwalczak!
Well, here’s a site that has a sketch of what the the front of the theater was supposed to look like after Loew’s took it over, but I don’t think it actually ever got this facelift: View link
Any photos of when it was a LOEWS?
Here is a photo of the Market Street Cinema I took Feb. 29th:
View link
Too blurry.
Too bad. It’s a nice shot of the three conjoining theaters.
I skipped that one on purpose.
Here is a night shot from 1986:
http://tinyurl.com/mabs68
In 1982 I went to see William Burroughs do a reading from his latest writings in a hugh Market St theatre. I remember the place as vaguely Art Deco in look, painted a khaki color.
Not sure if this is the place. There was something in a local paper about entrepeneurs leasing the place, trying to turn it from porn back into a legit venue.
It didn’t last; before long the theatre had gone back to porn. Does this jog anyone’s memory?
Leland, if you look at Lost Memory’s post from Jul 10 2007. It shows a view of the rear of the building. It does not look like it has a true stage house for live shows. It’s not tall enough.
There’s a misspelling in the architectural firm name at top. Harry L. Cunningham’s partner was named Matthew V. Politeo, not Polito as it currently says.
Here is a photo of the United Artists Theater.
1982 Photo
1984 Photo
Does anyone have any info about if and when it was used as a live theater? Size of stage, dressing rooms etc. It has a stage house so I assume it had a working stage.
Leland
National Register of Historic Places information:
Market Street Theatre and Loft District (added 1986 – District – #86000729)
982—1112 Market, 973—1105 Market, 1 Jones, and 1—35 Taylor Sts., San Francisco
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Et al., Miller,James R.
Architectural Style: Other, Chicago
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation, Commerce
Period of Significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Business, Theater
Current Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Business, Theater
The Market Street Cinema, photographed at night in January 2009:
http://flickr.com/photos/maltphoto/3240756814/
dancers SWEAR the place haunted. they claim to see a siloutte of a women in the back rooms, the one of a main on the man floor and the janitor hates going upstairs to the viewing booths because he swears he gets tapped on the shoulder up there when nobody is up there.
anybody know more about this? a possible fire that killed people in the past or a murder in or in the back part of this place?
Here is a July 2008 photo.