Check out this lovely, short film made by Barton Bishoff that explores the ruins of Sutro Baths, which burned down in 1966 (video). On his blog, Barton sums up nicely what it’s like to visit this once grand landmark:
A stroll on the ruins is fascinating and it’s easy to imagine what must have taken place over several decades: sounds of music from the 8,000 seat concert hall, people screaming and laughing in 7 tanks of different temperatures, a luxurious palace with staircases, 500 rooms, palm trees, and the feeling that this is how kings play.
The film’s music is Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major, Allegro moderato – Très doux.
Travel back in time to 1967 when plans were in the works for an extensive underground subway that would connect the Richmond with the new BART system once it opened. The image below is a concept showing it running underneath Park Presidio Boulevard at Geary.
Thanks to Eric Fisher for sharing this on his Flickr account and providing this information about the image:
The maps and pictures here are from a report on Coordinated Transit for the San Francisco Bay Area that was concerned with proposing changes to various transit systems to make connections with BART once it opened. Although the full report wasn’t published until 1967, an earlier draft of the plan was the subject of Proposition B of November 8, 1966 which was voted down. The core of the plan seems to have survived at least into the 1972 Rapid Transit Plan (map).
Reminds me of something I would see at Future World at Epcot Center.
Travel back in time to check out Playland at the Beach, the once bustling, 10-acre amusement park that sat on Ocean Beach here in the Richmond District until it closed in 1972. A new documentary about the park, entitled “Remembering Playland”, will premiere at the Balboa Theater on Tuesday, March 16th at 7pm.
The 62 minute film documents all the great landmarks of Playland like Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, and Fun-tier Town. Plus hear stories from people that worked and played there. This is the first and only documentary ever made about this San Francisco landmark.
This is sure to sell out, so get your tickets in advance ($6.50 – $10). The premiere will also include other short films on Playland.
This Sunday, The Balboa Theater will celebrate its 84th birthday with a special show of old films, a live vaudeville show, prizes and of course, birthday cake.
After kicking off with the premiere of a delightful new silent short filmed at the Balboa, Double Features, watch the 1926 film The Cat and the Canary, which has been called “the finest spooky house movie ever made.” It’s a suspenseful mystery about an heiress who is provided with a large inheritance, as long as she is deemed sane. When the estate lawyer disappears, things begin to unravel.
The birthday party will also include a live vaudeville show with magician James Hamilton and singer Linda Kosut. Jack Tillmany will also be at the event, signing and selling copies of his books on the theatres of San Francisco and Oakland.
Sunday’s party and show will be dedicated to the memory of theater owner Irma Levin, who died a few weeks ago. Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik had this to say about the film lover:
Levin and her husband founded the San Francisco International Film Festival, and – I’m picturing her, lively, smart, beautifully dressed in clothes she’d always sewn herself, at a film festival event at Tiffany a few years ago – she was one of the grand old ladies of San Francisco.
I went to the original showing at Herbst Theater and as a San Francisco native, I was fascinated and delighted by what I saw. Some of the highlights included old footage of the Bay Bridge being built, a man riding the north windmill in Golden Gate Park, families on the streets of the Richmond and Sunset districts, labor strikes downtown, “The Battle of Garbage Hill” between USF underclassmen, footage of Ocean Beach and Playland, and much more. On hand were four city historians to narrate what we were seeing.
The footage is now available online. To watch it, go to fora.tv. You’ll see there are different chapters available below the player, just click on one to skip to that section. But your best bet is to grab a cup of coffee, click the full screen icon, and enjoy the entire historic ride through old San Francisco.
Sarah B.
P.S. – If you only have a a little time to watch, don’t miss Chapter 4: The Bay Bridge, Chapter 7: Chinatown and Gee Family Movies, Chapter 13: Lakeshore and Golden Gate Park, and Chapter 16: Ocean Beach and Playland.
RichmondSFBlog reader Joanne sent this in to me after reading our post What to do with the Alexandria Theater?. She originally designed the poster for a graphics design class.
What would Joanne like to see happen with the Alexandria? “I’d like the theater to become a theater again. If they could show plays and stuff that would be even better, we have so few fun nightspots in the Richmond and it was so beautiful inside.”
On Thursday, February 18th, the Richmond District Public Library will present a free lecture, “Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers” from 6:30 to 8pm.
At the turn of the 19th century, Congress established the Buffalo Soldiers as the first peacetime African American regiment in the U.S. Army. The nickname was given by the Native American tribes they fought.
Frederik Penn, interpreter and educator at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, will lecture about the role the Buffalo Soldiers played in shaping the national park system with an emphasis on the 9th Cavalry stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco.
On a related note, there is a free screening on February 12 of the documentary “Inside Buffalo”, which tells the story of the 92nd infantry division, an African-American combat unit that fought heroically in Italy during World War II. 6:30pm at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio. SFCitizen has all the details.
Sarah B.
Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment, 1890
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?
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This Sunday, The Balboa Theater will celebrate its 84th birthday with a special show of old films, a live vaudeville show, prizes and of course, birthday cake.
