Spartan Cinema
150 Mason Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
150 Mason Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Spartan Theatre
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Located in the Tenderloin district of the city center. The Spartan Theatre operated in the early-1970’s. By the mid-1970’s it had been renamed Spartan Cinema and operated as a gay male porn cinema.
Contributed by
KenRoe
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
A storefront theater.
The Spartan Theatre was a very interesting place. It played gay movies. When you walked in there was a restroom to the left and a little cozy lobby. You walked into the auditorium which was a fairly good sized auditorium, about 300 seats, with a quite large movie screen and stage. On the left of the stage there was a doorway, with restrooms and next to that, a huge room with cubicles the size of horse stalls with huge leather curtains blocking each one. It was gutted by a fire, and when the fire hit the counter with the poppers enclosed, it caused a massive explosion that shook the buildings around like a earthquake.
Before the Spartan was a gay theatre, it played straight X-rated films there in the 70s.
I recall seeing one called the Nurses there and recently found a tape of it in Sacramento.
It may have been a regular theatre at one time.
I will go buy some time and see it’s current status and let you all know.
George Senda
Concord, Ca
Speaking of SF porno, the Chronicle website reports that Jim Mitchell died of a heart attack on Thursday. I didn’t see this in the LA Times yesterday, so this is a bit of news.
I was once told by an oldtimer that the Spartan Theatre originally opened as a newsreel theatre. Attendance at the Spartan was always brisk during the after work rush hour. A quite long, curved lobby jogged into a standee area. To the left of the standee was a wide auditorium with four isles that seperated three sections of upholstered theatre chairs. Black walls were decorated with blacklight male nudes, and Art Moderne lighting fixtures dressed up a black ceiling. A rather large stage apron hosted live male strip revues between features. “Private dances” could be had behind the screen…for a price.
Does anybody remember if the Spartan and Tom Kat were one and the same theatre?
If you’d like to see this theatre closer, seek out a 1976 adult movie HONORABLE JONES COMES OUT. It follows a city district attorney as he investigates porno theaters in SF. You get very good footage of the exterior of the theater, with a poster advertising ABDUCTION (aka ABDUCTION IN THE PARK, from the same production company as HONORABLE JONES) and the marquee, and the movie actually shoots a lot of its narrative within the screening room itself.
The Tea Room Theater on Eddy Street is the only similar type venue left in the Tenderloin.
And now THAT’S (trt) gone too!