“The New Mission Theatre, a landmark San Francisco movie palace that shut its doors in 1993 amid a trend toward multiplexes, may get a new lease on life as a five-screen cinema. . . “
THS Board member Gary Parks is quoted in the story cited below. Thanks to Howard Haas for the link:
While perhaps the most “generic” part of what I said was quoted (“cool”), I want to state that, combined with my on-site knowledge of the building gained from several visits over the years, looking at plans of the project which were forwarded to me reveal a structurally doable project which will respect a great portion of the original appearance of the building. I am a little skeptical about what they plan to do with the lobby during the retrofit process, but at least I know we can look forward to a beautifully restored neon sign tower, and inner lobbies and auditorium adapted quite well, even with original ornament moved or replicated in places where new structures would otherwise have eliminated it. My only other skepticism is with regard to the neighborhood. San Francisco needs to take action against the grimy status quo in places like the Mission neighborhood and Mid-Market Street (both old theatre districts) the way New York did with Times Square and 42nd St. With San Francisco’s present industry of permissively keeping things the way they are (masquerading as Liberalism), this could be a tall order. I hope the Mission Theatre project will be a pioneering component in a privately-created Mission St. rebirth.
What happens to the lobby?