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Above are two views the beloved Castro Theater, the bottom photo shows the theater recently repainted in bright 1970s colors for the filming of the movie Milk, a film about the life of Harvey Milk, the country's first openly-gay elected official.
The Spanish Baroque theater was designed by Timothy Pflueger in 1922 for the Nasser Brothers, Syrian immigrants whose family still retains ownership of the movie house. The unaltered interior features blue and yellow moorish tiles and ornate plaster work in an Arabia Nights theme. The theater added its famous neon sign in 1937 and was declared a Historic landmark in 1977. For many the Castro Theater marks the heart of San Francisco's Castro District and LGBT community. The repertory cinema seats 1,600 and its original Wurlitzer pipe organ rises slowly from the orchestra pit playing "San Francisco" just before the feature begins.
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2 Comments:
The Castro Theatre is one of my all-time favorite places in San Francisco. It's a perfect environment to enjoy a film, and when you hear and see the organ being played, it's an extra special treat.
The San Francisco Silent Film festival returns to the Castro next month and is a great opportunity to enjoy movies that were probably shown in that theatre when it first opened, and hear the live accompaniment on the Wurlitzer, too.
Thank you for including both photos. I far prefer the colors of the signage in the top photo, they allow the eye to see the architectural details of the building. Will they reinstate the colors after the filming of the Harvey Milk movie? I hope so!
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