Coronet Theatre
3575 Geary Boulevard,
San Francisco,
CA
94118
3575 Geary Boulevard,
San Francisco,
CA
94118
26 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 142 comments
Demolition began tody on the CORONET. Not much too see yet. Most of the work today was knocking down the gas station next door which is part of the project. But they did knock a huge hole in the side of the theater so they could get fork lift trucks and pnumatic drills inside to begin interior demolition. The big wrecking ball will come any day now. I took some pictures and will continue to document the demolition an hopefully will be able to post them somewhere for all to see.
FYI> I was able to get inside the CORONET about a month ago. (Legally!) I took about 50pictures on that day. The owner also let us “scavenger hunt”, as there was still lots of usable items inside.
We managed to recycle many items from the projection booth and concession area, including two working ice cream freezers, which have all been put to good use at the nearby BALBOA theater in San Francisco. -JC-
Has anyone read the new “Making Of Star Wars” book? I think the book overall is fantastic and a must-read for any fan, but contained within is some erroneous information pertaining to the post-production and distribution of the film. In particular, one glaring error appears in regard to the CORONET.
To summarize, there was some controversy surrounding “Star Wars” being pulled by court order to accommodate a booking of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.” The book’s author, however, erroneously claims that the matter was settled by having “Close Encounters” play at the NORTHPOINT while “Star Wars” stayed at the CORONET. This, of course, is not how the matter was resolved.
“Star Wars” was sent out for re-bid and wound up a week later at the CINEMA 21; “Close Encounters” did in fact play the CORONET; “The Goodbye Girl” played the NORTHPOINT at that time.
I found the error humorous considering the author singled out the CORONET no doubt due to its proximity to the headquarters of the company that produced the movie and for the many historical links between “Star Wars” and the city of San Francisco.
(1) Lucasfilm Ltd. for many years was based in Marin County, just a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, the company is based in San Francisco. (2) San Francisco is the city in which “Star Wars” was test-screened. (3) The CORONET was among the original theatres chosen to play the movie. (4) The CORONET had the highest boxoffice gross of the theatres in the U.S. that played the film during 1977.
You’d think that error would not have slipped through!
**** the Institute on Aging.
I remember seeing Camelot at the Coronet. We four couples drove up from San Jose. We all marveled at the beauty of the theatre which was so different from what we were used to. The experience turned out to be a very special night out for us in the 1960s.
This is horse s**t.
R.I.P. :–(
At least the Alexandria is still standing, (as far as I know).
Barring further last minute legal challenges, The Coronet Theater building is scheduled to be demolished in April 2007.
Unbelievable bullshit that this place is being taken apart. There is no sophisticated way to describe it.
:–(
Interior demolition of the Coronet apparantly began about 2 weeks ago. A huge debris box has been set up in the parking lot next to the theater and scaffolding has been erected inside. I have seen workers dumping wheelbarrows full of plaster & tile into the debris box and as I was passing there one day last week I saw them hauling out huge rolls of carpet that had been ripped out of the interior. -JimC-
Here is a July 2000 article about the possible demolition of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/y6xfwe
The Coronet saga goes on.
You can read the latest news (Sept 2006) here:
View link
Thursday, I was in Berkeley in an architectual salvage yard, and two of the coronet’s glass fronted movie poster display cases were for sale. I guess parts of the Coronet will live on elsewhere…
The theater is still standing (as of last week anyway) and the marquee says something about it being the future home of the senior center who owns it.
That’s one movie I don’t want to see.
All of eleven years old I saw BEN-HUR at the Coronet in the Spring of 1960. Traveled alone by public transit all the way from East Oakland to see it. To this day the best movie experience ever. The lead up to the break for Intermission and the accompanying music was exquisite. Drama & score marriage has never been outdone. Hollywood pulled out all the stops on this one. I tip my hat to you Coronet for knowing how to put on a show. When that huge red curtain closed and I walked out of the theater that day in 1960 the Coronet would indelibly be etched in my memory forever. Goodbye old friend.
Is the theatre still sitting there?
how many subwoofers did it have?
Indeed. Tearing down a single screen theater in ANY neighborhood is tragic.
I think that neighborhood did not get involved to protest or fight to save the Coronet theater.
What a bunch of $#*&
Tear down decrepit theatres in ghetto neighborhoods that are about to fall over. But don’t mess around with one that is well-maintained and does good business. You can build a freakin' senior center anywere.
I shouldn’t post comments of this nature. But it REALLY pisses me off.
Valuable real estate. Sad. At least the Coronet didnt undergo the indignity of being multiplexed itself. I’ve read about this theater for years………
Pretty ridicuous situation. It could be argued that theatres which have decayed to the point of being dangerous (like Detroit’s United Artists) should probably be torn down. But nobody can argue about those that are in good repair and still have significant ticket sales. My guess is that it all comes down to someone paying someone else a lot of money. Such is usually the case.
Yes..those are very nice theaters, but the only one still showing first run films is the UA Metro.
And the wonderful Castro Theatre too.
Don’t forget the city still has the Orpheum, Golden Gate and the Warfield Theatres. Ok they found renewed life with stage shows and concerts, their still around and open.
THE PLACE to see the first-run blockbuster. How I bragged about this theater to everyone I knew when I first moved to San Francisco. Little by little, I made them all watch a movie here and they all ask about it. I had to break the news to them. My parents are still upset it’s closed and when they visit me, they no longer want to see a movie in the city. Even they know all we have left is…shoeboxes. That’s because the city has lost a jewel of first-run programming. The closing of this theater was the last straw for me. After my problems with the new multiplexes and with no place decent to see a first-run Hollywood film, I have officially stopped going.
This theater had such great sound and going here was what movie watching was all about. Everyone got along here! No cellphone problems! No tough-talking guetto youths staring you down as you walked by! It was this city’s last civilized, classy first-run theater. They’re gone. Over.