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Castro Theatre

The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace and the 100th San Francisco City Historical Landmark. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage — in its great arched central window surmounted by a scrolling pediment framing a niche — to the recently rebuilt basilica of Mission Dolores nearby. Its designer, Timothy L. Pflueger, also designed Oakland's Paramount Theater and other movie theaters in California in that period.

History

The Castro Theatre originally opened at 479 Castro Street in 1910. It was subsequently remodeled into a retail store (currently occupied by Cliff's Variety, since 1971) in the mid 1920s after the larger Castro Theater was built at 429 Castro Street, its current location, only a few doors up from the original theatre.

On 22 June 1922 for an invitation-only screening, with local luminaries such as Mayor James "Sunny Jim" Rolphin attendance, of the Paramount release Across the Continent (1922), starring Wallace Reid. The new Castro Theater opened the following day to the general public.

For the filming of the Gus Van Sant biopic Milk, restorations were made to the neon on the theater's marquee and the facade was repainted.

Description

The Nasser brothers, who built the theater and still own it, also owned several movie houses in the San Francisco area. The interior is luxurious and ornate, with subtly convex and concave walls and ceiling and a dramatic Wurlitzer pipe organ that is played before performances. The large neon "Castro" sign, visible from much of the city, is emblematic of both the theatre and the Castro District.

Today, the Castro Theatre hosts repertory movies, film festivals, and special events, including gay and multicultural focus, such as the San Francisco International Film Festival, Frameline: the SF International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Noir City: The Film Noir Festival, the SF International Asian American Film Festival, Berlin and Beyond: German Film Festival, the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, SF Indiefest, The Silent Film Festival, Midnites for Maniacs, and the Shock It To Me! Classic Horror Film Festival

The Castro Theatre is located on Castro Street near the intersection of Market and 17th Streets, across from the Castro Street Station on the Muni Metro subway.