Uptown Theatre
2101 Sutter Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
2101 Sutter Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Golden State Theater & Realty Corp.
Firms: Fabre & Hildebrand
Styles: Art Deco, Atmospheric, Mission Revival
Previous Names: New Alcazar Theatre, Republic Theatre, Sutter Theatre, Lloyd Downton's Uptown Theatre,
Nearby Theaters
Located on the southwest corner of Sutter Street and Steiner Street. Opened in 1908 as the New Alcazar Theatre with a Mission Revival style. It was remodeled in 1930 in an Atmospheric/Art Deco style. The Uptown Theatre was closed in 1970. The building was ‘To Lease’ in September 1977, but was demolished in 1978.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
You can see the marquee near the start of the film “The Last Waltz” (1978). The full concert and Thanksgiving dinner was held at Bill Graham’s Winterland arena.
This list of San Francisco theaters and dancehalls has the following timeline for the Uptown Theatre:
The August, 1931 issue of Architect and Engineer had two interior photos of the Uptown Theatre: two interior photos of the Uptown The first shows the staircase to Mezzanine, and the second (scroll down) the Spanish-atmospheric auditorium. The architects of the Uptown were Fabre & Hildebrand.The Uptown, in my opinion, was San Francisco’s first luxurious dirty movie theater. The center curved section of the marquee had a painted glass overlay that read “movies for mature swinging adults”. Winterland next door was thriving with great rock bands, with the Uptown getting many customers after the concerts. It was said that a undercover check revealed “leud conduct” in the balcony and they raided the place. The operators lost their appeals on obsenity charges and the City shut the Uptown down. I don’t remember if it reopened after that.
Here is a photo of the New Alcazar Theatre dated 1907.
June 6, 1972 photo & copy added courtesy of George A. Dibble III.
Crowd for the 2nd Rolling Stones show lining up in front of the Uptown Theater, across from Winterland at Steiner & Sutter. I had just come out of the first show. Stevie Wonder was the warm up.
Opened as the New Alcazar on March 18th, 1907. Ad in the photo section.
March 1st, 1930 grand opening ad as Uptown in the photo section.