El Capitan Theatre and Hotel | |
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![]() El Capitan Theatre and Hotel in 2015 | |
Location | 2353 Mission Street, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Coordinates | 37°45′34″N122°25′09″W / 37.759436°N 122.419117°W |
Built | 1928 |
Designated | March 3, 1996 [1] |
Reference no. | 214 |
El Capitan Theatre and Hotel, or The Cap, is a historic 1928 building containing a hotel, shops, and a former luxury vaudeville and movie theater in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. [2] [3] It has been listed by the city as a San Francisco Designated Landmark (no. 214), since March 3, 1996. [1]
It is a Spanish colonial revival style with a Mexican baroque façade, designed by architect Gustave Albert Lansburgh. [1] When it was built for the Ackerman and Harris vaudeville circuit, it was the second largest theater in San Francisco with 3,100-seats. [2] [4] [5] It opened on June 29, 1928, with Edward Sloman's silent film We Americans (1928) starring George Sidney, [5] Patsy Ruth Miller, and George J. Lewis. The theater contained a Wurlitzer theatre organ (style 235) to accompany silent films. [5]
The building later became part of Fox West Coast Theatres (now Fox Theatres) as the "Mission Street Showcase" theater, and by 1950, they introduced CinemaScope and stereophonic sound. [2] It closed on December 15, 1957. [2]
In 1961, the theatre portion of the building was demolished, and turned into a parking lot by 1965. [1] [6] In 1994, the remaining portion of the building experienced a fire, which did not affect the façade. [3] Still remaining are the hotel, the stores, the marquee, and the façade.