Supervisor Eric Mar spoke to SFAppeal about some of the plans that have been brewing for the old theater. He said there are designs to install an expansive restaurant and supper club inside the building.

“My understanding in the latest proposal is that they have plans to maintain some of the art deco features in the exterior and the interior. The 8,000 square foot restaurant [they're planning] is not to interfere with any of the murals,” Mar told SFAppeal.

The Supervisor also said he’d like to see some of the space used for non-profits, and ensure the inclusion of affordable housing in the residential units that are still planned for the back parking lot. His goal is to have 15% of the units designated as affordable housing.

When asked why it’s taken so long – six years – for the Alexandria project to move forward, Supervisor Mar replied, “I’ll just say we have patience with our city departments. But this is one of our priorities.”

Mar is also planning to investigate securing landmark or structure of merit status for the building, which first opened in 1923 and was built by prominent San Francisco architects the Reid Brothers.

The article also states that the environmental review for the project is nearly complete and that they are moving toward publication of the Mitigated Negative Declaration, which once released, is open to public comment.

Read the full story at SFAppeal

So what do you think of the plan to put a restaurant/supper club in the space?

Sarah B.

Supervisor Eric Mar is hosting a public reception at his office this Friday night in celebration of the Year of the Tiger. Stop by for light refreshments and to meet and talk with your local representative.

The reception will run from 5:30-7:30pm in his office at City Hall, room 284.

Sarah B.

A recent New York Times article, Crumbling Movie Palace Finds An Angel, got me thinking about our sad, faded Alexandria Theater, which is quickly earning “worst abandoned building” honors in the Richmond.

The article tells the story of a former Loews movie theater in Brooklyn that will be renovated and turned into an entertainment venue, presenting live performances instead of movies. Price tag: $70 million.

After a four-year process -– and many false starts — the city has selected a company based in Houston, ACE Theatrical Group, to renovate and operate the theater. It would be, once again, the biggest indoor theater in Brooklyn and would hold 250 concerts, theatrical performances and community events annually, officials said.

Since I started this blog last spring, I get an email every few months from a random reader, asking me what is happening with the Alexandria. I never have much to tell them. The developers who purchased it aren’t sure what to do with it. I heard one rumor that the developer proposed apartments on the back parking lot and then reopening the theater with commercial spaces in it (e.g. an indoor mall).

Originally built in 1923 by the venerable architects the Reid Brothers, the Alexandria Theater (history) officially closed on February 16, 2004. A couple of weeks later, they pulled out all the projection equipment, speakers and seats.

Before the building could become too rundown, The Western Neighborhoods Project teamed up with the Phaeton Group in May 2004 to document the beautiful art deco details of the building’s interior and exterior. You can see a few of those pictures below.

So what should be done with the Alexandria? Some have proposed that the space be turned into a market, ala Trader Joe’s. Perhaps its use should change altogether. The old Alhambra Theater on Polk was turned into a successful gym (photo).

Or like the Lowes Theater in Brooklyn, the Alexandria could be turned into a venue for theater performances, music concerts, and community events.

Unlike the theater in New York, the Alexandria is not owned by the city (this could be seen as both a good and a bad thing). Nevertheless, I would love to see Supervisor Mar take this on as a project during his term. Resurrecting this space would help improve Geary Boulevard and potentially turn it into an important community center for the neighborhood.

What would you like to see happen with the Alexandria?

Sarah B.

On Monday, December 14, Supervisor Eric Mar will hold a hearing about the management of large public and private events in Golden Gate Park, such as Outside Lands and some of the other large scale festivals that we have every year.

The discussion will focus on traffic, transportation, clean-up, parking, noise, safety, outreach and neighborhood notification for the events. If you’d like to share your thoughts with the Land Use Committee and Supervisor Mar, please attend the hearing which will be held at 1pm at City Hall, Room 263.

If you can’t attend the meeting but want to send Supervisor Mar your thoughts on these issues, contact him here.

Sarah B.

Tonight, Supervisor Eric Mar and his staff hosted a reception for the opening of a Richmond District-themed photography exhibition entitled “Photography from the Fog”. The pieces are on display in Supervisor Mar’s office in City Hall, Room 284.

The photos on display were mostly shots in and around the Richmond District. Startling portraits on Ocean Beach, a trio of Legion of Honor images, vivid details of the Alexandria’s deteriorating exterior, beautiful flowers on Cabrillo, a Dutch windmill in the setting sun, and intriguing pics of Clement Street at night were among the thirty or so photos in the exhibition.

There was lots of banter about one photo entitled “Wilderness” by Suzanne Ray. It was, well, different, shall we say. After finding the photo in her Flickr account, I am relieved to say it was snapped on Masonic. Which yes, Masonic is technically part of District 1, but what I consider outside the Richmond District. And when you see what the pic is of, you’ll be glad too that it’s not technically in our neighborhood.

Also on display was the 38 Geary sculpture created by Frankenart Mart for Supervisor Mar. It’s made from Richmond District materials like Ocean Beach sand, as well as fallen twigs and branches from Golden Gate Park.

The party was very well attended with over 100 people and a band to kick things off early in the evening. The crowd spilled out into the quiet halls of City Hall on a Friday night. I don’t get to City Hall often, but when I do, I am always struck by its beauty. The night’s event inspired me to snap some pics of my own on the way out. But not before I craned my neck several times to see if there really were birds up in the rotunda.

Over the next several months, you can drop by Supervisor Mar’s office at City Hall anytime during regular hours to take a look at the photographs or the bus sculpture. Congratulations to all the artists who were featured in the show. I really enjoyed seeing our great neighborhood on display.

Sarah B.

Photographer Wolfgang Schubert stands in front of his photos in the show

Supervisor Eric Mar with staff member Cassandra Costello

The 38 Geary sculpture created by Frankenart Mart

All aboard! A closeup of the 38 Geary sculpture

A shot of the beautiful City Hall rotunda by night

Shoppers and moviegoers rejoice! The parking meters along Balboa Street were recently changed from 1 to 2 hour parking. Now you can take a little more time to run your errands, and even catch a flick without having to circle and circle for non-metered parking.

This change affects meters directly in front of the theater but also extends outwards, impacting more than 100 parking meters.

This week’s Balboa Theater newsletter had this to say about the changes:

We have the office of Supervisor Eric Mar to thank for this improvement. Additionally, we would like to thank every single nearby business that signed on for this change. It was a wonderful example of community unanimity.

The Balboa’s Owner, Gary Meyer, and San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, President, Alfonso Felder, helped lead the charge while the entire Balboa staff had worked hard in this outreach effort with exceptional effort by manager, Adam Levy and crew members Andy Leung and Sean Sanford. We hope that this change makes coming to The Balboa that much easier and are exhilarated to demonstrate in our own local way that Change is Possible!

So start stashing more quarters in your ashtray and head out to catch a movie and a meal on Balboa. Right now “Couples Retreat” starring Vince Vaughan, and Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” are playing. Opening October 23 is the biopic “Amelia” about Amelia Earhart, and starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere. Check out the “Amelia” trailer below and all Balboa Theater showtimes here.

Sarah B.

This morning, residents in the Richmond district joined nearly 8 million other Californians in the Big Shakeout earthquake drill. At 10:15 this morning sirens sounded and schools, businesses and government agencies joined in the world record drill.

Here in the neighborhood, Supervisor Eric Mar paused from his coffee meeting at Cafe la Flore on Clement to join others valiantly squeezing under the small topped tables. Among the other neighbors participating today with Supervisor Mar was David Hirtz, the Outer Richmond coordinator for the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team.

NERT is a free training program for individuals, neighborhood groups and community-based organizations in San Francisco. Through this program, individuals can learn the basics of personal preparedness and prevention. The training also includes hands-on disaster skills that will help individuals respond to a personal emergency as well as act as members of a neighborhood response team.

NERT teams throughout the city will step in when (if!) the big one comes to augment the overwhelmed resources of the city. Hirtz says, “There is a whole generation now living in San Francisco that have never experienced an earthquake of the size of Loma Prieta. The drill today is a good step in raising awarness that preparing is important. With a 50% chance a Loma Prieta sized quake will come our way within the next 30 years the time to start preparing is now! Here are 3 things that can increase your survival in the quake: 1) make a plan for you, your family and pets 2) build a kit and 3) get training.”

The Shakeout is a part of the twenty year anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake that will include a city wide NERT drill at the Marina green on Saturday, along with other events. You can find out more on how to prepare and get information on free NERT training at http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfnert_index.asp.

Special thanks to David Hirtz for sending in this story and photo.

Sarah B.

Supervisor Eric Mar ducks for cover in Cafe la Flore on Clement during this morning’s earthquake drill.

Next Friday, October 16, Richmond District Supervisor Eric Mar will host a reception at his City Hall office for a new community photo exhibit called “Photography from the Fog”. The reception is free and open to the public.

Featuring numerous local photographers, Friday night’s reception will be a first peek at photos taken by artists who live in the Richmond or who photograph it. Also on display will be the 38 Geary sculpture created by Frankenart Mart.

Photographers on display will include John Mickelson, Joseph Smooke, Meg Stilb and Sheree Kaslikowsi. Plus two of my readers’ works will be in the show as well – Wolfgang Schubert and Tammy Aramian.

The reception runs from 5:30pm – 8pm in Supervisor Mar’s City Hall office, Room 284. If you can’t make it on the 16th, drop by City Hall after that to see the exhibit; it will be up for a couple of months. For more information, contact Supervisor Mar’s office at 557-4277.

I’ll see you there!

Sarah B.

Photo by Flickr member 2composers (Wolfgang Schubert)