Theatres of San Francisco

Front Cover
Arcadia Publishing, Aug 31, 2005 - Photography - 128 pages
You read the sad stories in the papers: another ornate, 1920s, single-screen theatre closes, to be demolished and replaced by a strip mall. Thats progress, and in this 20-screen multiplex world, its happening more and more. Only a handful of the 100 or so neighborhood theatres that once graced these streets are left in San Francisco, but they live on in the photographs featured in this book. The heyday of such venues as the Clay, Noe, Metro, New Mission, Alexandria, Coronet, Fox, Uptown, Coliseum, Surf, El Rey, and Royal was a time when San Franciscans thronged to the movies and vaudeville shows, dressed to the hilt, to see and be seen in majestic art deco palaces. Unfortunately, this era has passed into history despite the dedicated efforts of many neighborhood preservation groups.
 

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Contents

Title Page
Two LIVE THEATRE
Three INTERNATIONAL ART AND REPERTORY
Four THE MISSION
Five THE NEIGHBORHOODS
Six WEST OF TWIN PEAKS
Seven MULTIPLEXES
Copyright

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About the author (2005)

Jack Tillmany, former owner of the Gateway Cinema in San Francisco and a revival programming pioneer, brings the citys theatres to life in this amazing selection of vintage images. Drawing from his personal archive collected during a 30-year career in cinema management, he paints a detailed story of the golden age of theatre, both live and cinematic. It was a time of stunning architecture, elegance, and opulence, and this volume is a reminder of the pre-multiplex days when almost every neighborhood boasted its own beloved theatre.