Regal Theatre
1046 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
1046 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
2 people
favorited this theater
The Pompeii Theatre opened in 1925. It was renamed Regal Theatre in 1936. In 1974, it became the Bijou Theatre screening adult movies.
Later renamed Regal Theatre, it featured live adult entertainment for many years, but had closed by early 2009.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
This place only has live sex shows now. It was the Regal theater, which showed quadruple billed films to Market Street audiences(& even advertised “always 6 color cartoons”). In 1972, started showing hardcore films(the notorious film “Animal Lover” played here, which got booted out of San Francisco due to public outcry) and in 1973, the Mitchell Brothers took it over and showed triple bills of hard porn (initially at $1.99). The Mitchells ran this until the early 1990’s(and at that time it was the only theater they had left showing porn films, the rest either folded or, in the case of the O'Farrell Theater, went to strickly live sex shows). Deja Vu runs it now.
The correct name of the theatre is Regal, not Regal World.
It opened in mid-1925 as the Pompeii, and was renamed Regal on February 8, 1936. For nearly thirty years it was one of several popular little Market Street theatres that provided the walk-in trade with good value for their money, worthwhile films, usually geared towards the action market, low prices, and four changes a week; in the mid-1950’s double features became triple features, and, as pointed out above, there were also 6 color cartoons on every program.
When the Mitchell Brothers took over, it was renamed the Bijou on October 30, 1974, but later was changed back to Regal.
Still in operation under the name L.A. Girls, the site now offers lap dancers, but, alas, the color cartoons are gone forever.
I have it still listed as the Bijou, operated by the Mitchell Brothers in the S.F. Chronicle dated 24 Nov 1976
The SF Public Library lists this as being outside the Paramount, but the marquee indicates otherwise:
View link
This theatre used to run 3 films for $1.25 in the 60s.
At one time they ran 3 Godzilla films at once.
You walked by the former box office up a ramp, and bought your ticket inside.
The restroom was the strangest and smallest I have ever seen. It had a urinal which worked like a waterfall, a toilet with a stall and the usual condom machines on the wall. It was so small that 3 people could not fit in it at the same time.
For awhile after it closed as a theatre and reopened first as a peep show booth place, the name Regal Cinema could still be seen done in tile on the tiled front entrance where you used to walk in.
The Regal was further up the street from the current site of LA Girls. I know this because I went into the Bijou a few times. ( which had porn stars of the 70s and 80s appear including Long Jeanne Silver who only had one foot and did incredible things with candles) and then worked as a fill in cashier when it got changed to an adult video store in the late 90s.
Sadly I never thought about asking to look around when it was the Bijou.
George Senda
Concord, Ca
Interior decor was obviousley somewhat all original when this house operated as the Bijou.
The raked lobby was long and narrow with recessed coming attractions display cases along the left wall, while a carnival type concession stand filled up the right side.
Ticket holders entered the auditorium up a steep ramp and proceeded to either walk down a long single center isle, or go right or left where the isle split into two isles running upward along the entrance ramp. Black painted walls were lined with cast plaster, rectangular yellow frames that concealed indirect lighting. Inside each frame was a large plaster bullseye circle (reminding one of the opening credits for WB cartoons in that these circles were painted bright orange, with red highlighted edges). In the center of each circle was a single 10-watt orange light bulb. Navy blue paint dulled an intricate pattern on a gently vaulted ceiling.
Strange as it may seem, the one and only exit consisted of a sheet glass door from which pedestrians could be seen walking past along Golden Gate Ave.
The year given for this photo is 1970.
This is a 1990 photo from the SFPL:
View link
Here are some photos of the Bijou:
1980 Photo
1983 Photo
1983 Photo
1986 Photo
The Regal is currently closed. I walked by it last Sunday. The entrance is boarded up. The vertical sign has the name covered over. The entire building’s facade has been painted dark green for quite a few years, and looks dirtier and dirtier as time goes on. Many decorative details still survive. To the right of the theatre entrance, one storefront transom window is surrounded by remnamts of a deco remodel from the Thirties. If one looks closely little geometric embossed patterns can be seen. With a lot of money and care, the whole building could be made quite handsome once again. As I always do when walking along that part of Market Street, I paused respectfully at the little “seam” of surviving terra cotta ornament from the facade of the Granada/Paramount next door.