El Rey Theatre (San Francisco, California)

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El Rey Theatre
El Rey Theatre San Francisco.jpg
El Rey Theatre in 2024
Location1970 Ocean Avenue,
San Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates 37°43′34″N122°27′51″W / 37.726164°N 122.464153°W / 37.726164; -122.464153
Built1931 (1931)
Architect Timothy L. Pflueger
Architectural style(s)Art Deco-Moderne, [1] Spanish-Colonial Revival
DesignatedJuly 27, 2017
Reference no.274 [2]
Location map San Francisco County.png
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Location of El Rey Theatre in San Francisco County
USA California location map.svg
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El Rey Theatre (San Francisco, California) (California)

El Rey Theatre is a historic theater building in the Ingleside Terraces neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States. The building is listed by the city as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since 2017. [1] [3] [4]

Contents

History

The Balboa Theatre (built in 1922) at 1634 Ocean Avenue had preceded the El Rey. [5]

The Art DecoModerne El Rey Theatre building was designed by local architect Timothy L. Pflueger. [1] [6] It contains a 150 feet (46 m) tower, and the tower once contained an aircraft beacon, and neon lights. [3] [7] The El Rey Theatre opened on November 14, 1931, and had 1,800-seats. [8] The opening show was The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), starring Maurice Chevalier. [9] One of the retail spaces next door to the theater was the first location of The Gap (now Gap Inc.) in 1969. [10] In April 1, 1977, the theater closed. [8] [11]

In 2016, the building was sold at auction to the "Voice of the Pentacost or A Place to Meet Jesus" church, which later defaulted on their mortage. [1] Since 2021, the former theater building has been slated for redevelopment into a multi-unit housing building. [1] [12]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Redevelopment Plans Move Forward for Historic El Rey Theater In Ingleside". SFist . 2021-08-17. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  2. "Bourdette Building Landmark Designation Report" (PDF). San Francisco Planning Department. May 20, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "San Francisco Landmark 274: El Rey Theater". noehill.com. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  4. "ORDINANCE NO. 161-17 — Planning Code - Landmark Designation - 1970 Ocean Avenue (aka El Rey Theater)" (PDF). American Legal Publishing. July 18, 2017. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  5. Tillmany, Jack (2005). Theatres of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 124. ISBN   978-0-7385-3020-8.
  6. Nolte, Carl (July 2, 2022). "Ocean Avenue is one of San Francisco's unsung streets. Here's why". The San Francisco Chronicle . ISSN   1932-8672 . Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. Poletti, Therese (2008-09-03). Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 129. ISBN   978-1-56898-756-9.
  8. 1 2 "El Rey Theatre". OutsideLands.org. Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved 2024-02-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Proctor, Jacqueline (2006). San Francisco's West of Twin Peaks. Arcadia Publishing. p. 76. ISBN   978-0-7385-4660-5.
  10. Keeling, Brock (2017-07-19). "Timothy Pflueger's El Rey Theatre, home of the first Gap, granted landmark status". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  11. Dineen, J.K. (June 26, 2017). "SF's El Rey Theater moves step closer to being a city landmark". The San Francisco Chronicle . ISSN   1932-8672 . Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  12. Kristoff, Anne Marie (2023-06-08). "El Rey Theatre Project Architect Shares Plans". The Ingleside Light. Retrieved 2024-02-29.