Palm Theater
1705 Palm Avenue,
San Mateo,
CA
94402
1705 Palm Avenue,
San Mateo,
CA
94402
3 people
favorited this theater
Opened in 1949 as a neighborhood theater, the Palm Theater had been operating as a porn house for the last 30 years until it was closed in May of 2005 and was razed two months later. It is to be replaced by a condominium complex.
Contributed by
scottfavareille
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 86 comments)
I saw “The Sound of Music” at this theater in the 1960’s as a child and then I saw an X-Rated version of “Alice in Wonderland” here as an adult! Funny, sad but funny.
Here is a 2005 article about the demolition:
http://tinyurl.com/yyczc8
Article about the new Palm Residences:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/05/RESBR4FA61.DTL
The project’s recreation room has saved some of the Palm’s etched glass mirrors & panels for installation there. Also salvaged were “2 faded, framed posters-one of Mae West & WC Fields and one of West alone-in a style reminiscent of the late Al Hirschfeld” and 3 “frayed posters” with the message “If you are easily offended, please do not attend.”
Prices range from $549,000 for a 802 sq ft 1 bedroom unit to $858,000 for a 2 bd, 2 ½ bath unit of 1320 sq ft. HOA dues are $380-424 per month on top of that. 19 units are available for sale.
A rec room doesn’t sound like a good location for glass artifacts of historic value. I understood that in the EIR a mitigation for demolition was placement of the best artifacts with a historical society was required. Instead as so often happens the scavangers got there first and now it looks like the developers are getting to use the glass for decorating the project. It’s better than having them destroyed, but for a project that demolished a significant historic resource, with unavoidable (unmitigated) significant impacts on the environment requiring a finding of overriding public interest, this whole scene is a sad comment on how little protection there really is for historic resources against a determined developer. Once again the developer gets off scott free.
For those of you who might be interested here is the planning commissions meeting on the proposed demoltion of the Palm Theatre. Several people voiced requests to save the theatre, all in vain.
CITY OF SAN MATEO
PLANNING COMMISSION
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
NOVEMBER 25, 2003
View link
Does anyone have interior photos of this theatre?
I was 10 years old in 1963 when I saw Ann Margaret in “Bye-Bye Birdie at the Palm Theater. It was the moment i discovered girls……
Here is a November 1953 ad from the San Mateo Times:
http://tinyurl.com/qw8bmw
Palm Theatre what a name for a porno!
I finally found my photo of the interior of the Palm, and posted it. Enjoy!