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 48 comments found
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.
This is a 2008 view.
I know that by the mid-1980’s, MSC was strickly live shows only, save for some “video arcade” (aka peep show) booths.
Live shows make more money now. Besides it all video projection now, 35mm XXX died years ago.
Here is another photo of the Market Street Cinema which doesn’t appear to be a movie theater anymore.