Presidio Theatre

2340 Chestnut Street,
San Francisco, CA 94123

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Related Websites

Presidio Theatre (Official)

Additional Info

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.

After closing in 2003 as a single screen theatre, the Presidio 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.

Contributed by Juan-Miguel Gallegos

Recent comments (view all 31 comments)

JimC
JimC on August 1, 2008 at 10:13 am

The Presidio Theater has just completed upgrading the sound system in Theater #1 (the big one) to digital sound. The installation inculded putting new speakers behind the screen and adding more surround speakers to the sides and back walls of the auditorium.

Digital sound upgrades to the remaining auditorums are scheduled in the near future.

The Presidio has one of the largest non-IMAX screens in San Francisco, now that the METRO and CORONET are gone. They now have big sound to match the big picture.

theauteur
theauteur on February 20, 2009 at 8:06 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 1:31 am

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

Mikeyisirish
Mikeyisirish on June 26, 2012 at 2:00 pm

A 2011 photo can be seen here.

Bobbalt
Bobbalt on July 30, 2016 at 10:17 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 7:33 am

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

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on March 17, 2025 at 5:50 pm

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

and the chain is Lee Neighborhood Theatre

ridethectrain
ridethectrain on March 18, 2025 at 12:19 am

Please update, total seats 480

Theatre 1 250

Theatre 2 100

Theatre 3 100

Theatre 4 30

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