O'Farrell Theatre
895 O'Farrell Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94109
895 O'Farrell Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94109
1 person
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Additional Info
Previous Names: O'Farrell Adult Theatre
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News About This Theater
- Jul 17, 2007 — Adult theater pioneer Jim Mitchell passes away
The Mitchell Brothers, Jim and Artie, started their empire of porn by opening the O'Farrell Adult Theatre on July 4, 1969. The building had housed a Buick dealership prior to its opening. Porn film played here from its opening until the late-1970’s, when live sex shows were added to the mix.
It was frequently the target for attempts at prosecuting for obscenity, but it survived operating with live sex shows only. It was closed in October 2020.
Contributed by
scottfavareille
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
Jim Mitchell had a lot of connections with the San Francisco power structure. It was not unusual to see cops and politicians getting lap dances from the various women at the O'Farrell. That said, Jim Mitchell’s defense in killing his brother, Artie, was that he shot him because he was “trying to save him” from his alcoholism. The official defense was “intervention gone awry.” Many politicians and pundit Warren Hinckle chimed in to Jim’s defense, and Jim was convicted of manslaughter, not murder. According to the SF Chronicle, “The jury concluded that the killing was voluntary manslaughter committed by the elder brother in the heat of passion. Mitchell was released from San Quentin Prison on Oct. 3, 1997, after serving less than three years for his brother’s slaying.”
Can someone tell us what the O'Farell Theater was before the Mitchell Brothers opened it? Was it a theater?
Here is part of an article from the San Mateo Times dated 8/16/69:
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)– A federal judge has ordered San Francisco police not to arrest patrons attending theaters where erotic movies are shown. Some 19 embarrassed persons were arrested this week in police raids on two sex film theaters.
U.S. District Judge Alfonso J. Zarpoli stressed that the temporary restraining order issued Friday is limited to patrons, and would not prevent the arrest of the theater owner or operator. The judge set next Friday for a hearing on the matter.
Zirpoli acted in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of James Mitchell, 25, operator of the O’Farrell Theater, the site of one of this week’s raids. The suit charged state laws regarding obscenity and “visiting a disorderly house'‘ were unconstitutional.
After the court action, Mitchell said. “We are open for business and we will stay open. Our customers are protected even if we aren’t. But we’ll take our chances.” Mitchell was arrested July 25 on charges of showing an obscene film. But with some 27 theaters in San Francisco showing erotic movies, police decided to change tactics and arrest the customers.
That building does look like an old car dealership-you can see where the display windows have been filled in.
Here is a 2009 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yb87wwq
George75… Hey asshole, This is Vaughan. Whattamean, mean-spirited?!?! I live in a Philippines whorehouse, and doing fine without your approval. Gish used to visit me here regularly until he died of cancer a couple of years ago. I still see Doc Dossett occasionally. Who are you, anyway? I’m more mean-spirited than ever, got it down to an art form!
Vaughan…Charlie fired me because he disliked me, and fired you because you did everything except what you were supposed to do. You knew you were golden as long as Artie was there; when you learned of his death, did you know Charlie would fire you? I suppose you know that Jim, Vince, Shelby and many of the dancers from that era are now dead. I’m sure Charlie has retired; is he still alive? Lonnie and Bill moved back to CT, I believe. Tom, 25, 300 lbs. (assistant manager), grew to 400 lbs. and quit to study computers. (A lot of good his Stanford degree did him! Wonder if he’s still celibate.)
July 4th, 1969 ad in the photo section.
Up for sale.
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/10/23/18016156/mitchell-brothers-theatre-strip-club-sale?fbclid=IwAR2QuyO6oZZM_CyODvBu5_BSg8QXlV3oOUZ3fPTMrVzaJxSUzhEpPb3yLVw
Status is Closed, October 2020 after 51 years.
Article below.
https://hoodline.com/2020/11/legendary-porn-palace-the-o-farrell-theatre-closes-after-50-years/#disqus_thread
News footage (KRON, San Francisco) of the 8/14/1969 raid on the theatre can be seen here… https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/231104