Collection of Steve Levin

Fox Theatre
San Francisco, California
Opened: June 28, 1929
Architect: Thomas W. Lamb
Capacity: 4651
Organs: House: Wurlitzer 4/36; Lobby: Moller 3/12
Closed: February 16, 1963; demolished

There is no universal agreement on what was the "Greatest Movie Palace," but the Fox invariably turns up near the top of every list. It occupies the top spot of mine, but not just because I had the opportunity to spend so much time in it. Other movie houses (eight, to be precise) were larger, and some areas, the lobby and auditorium ceilings in particular, were not as elaborately ornamented as they might have been, but the Fox's overall combination of size, grace and opulence was, I feel, unmatched by any other movie palace.

Thomas Lamb's office was the most conservative of the small number of firms which dominated movie palace design (Lamb and Rapp & Rapp of Chicago were responsible for nearly half of the hundred largest). A Lamb theatre from 1926 was hard to distinguish from one built a dozen years before, but he broke out of this pattern in 1927 with the Midland, Kansas City, a house very much like what Rapp & Rapp had been doing for nearly a decade. The Ohio, Columbus, and a few others continued this trend, which reached its apex with the Fox. Perhaps sensing he had done all he could in the French Baroque line, Lamb switched to Oriental models for most of his subsequent designs.

The four pictures in this gallery show the cover of the opening-night program, the facade, the lobby and the auditorium. The tall window had no connection to any interior space: it was there just for looks. The lobby shot was made sometime during WW II: note the bond sales stand in the center. The carpet had already worn so much that it had been turned around. The cutout section which once surrounded the base of the staircase is seen here with a solid-color piece sewn into the space. When it finally wore out, the carpet was not replaced: beneath it was a perfectly fine terrazzo floor, which is the only one I can recall. The view of the auditorium shows only two of the six arches which ran down the sidewalls. The Fox was sometimes rented out for conventions or special shows; the stepped cover over the organ console suggests this picture was made during one of these.

Were it still standing, the Fox would be observing its seventieth anniversary this year, but with a life of less than thirty-four years, it has been gone longer than it existed. The city of San Francisco had an opportunity to purchase the theatre for a pittance, but this idea was rejected by both the government and the voters. Saving the Fox was an idea exactly five years ahead of its time, but its loss, like that of New York's Pennsylvania Station, was a galvanizing force for local preservationists.

Twenty years ago, a 372-page illustrated history of the Fox was published by Preston Kaufmann, who became obsessed with the theatre at age six when he observed its demolition. It is unlikely that any other movie palace will ever be documented as exhaustively, and given Kaufmann's death, it is equally unlikely that this excellent book will ever be back in print. Copies do turn up, however: check our Bookshop and place a "search" order.

Castro Theatre
San Francisco, California
Opened: June 22, 1922
Architect: Timothy L. Pflueger
Capacity: 1875
Organ: Robert-Morton 2/11 (1922-62): Wurlitzer 4/21 (1979-present)

The Nasser Brothers' leap into big-time exhibition came with the opening of the Castro, which replaced a much smaller Castro (1910-1922) just down the street. According to Ted Nasser, Pflueger, then fairly unknown, was recommended by the bank which financed the project. Later Pflueger projects for the Nassers were the Alhambra, San Francisco (1926), the Alameda, Alameda (1932), and extensive renovations to the New Mission, New Fillmore and Royal theatres, all in San Francisco. Pflueger made some changes, mostly decorative, to the Castro in the 1930s, but it has remained essentially unaltered ever since.

A last-run house by 1976, the Castro was then leased to art-film maven Mel Novikoff, who installed a wildly-successful art/revival policy. Following Novikoff's death a dozen years later, his small circuit was acquired by Blumenfeld Theatres, which has maintained that policy. The Wurlitzer organ, assembled of choice pipework and components from many organs, including the console from Detroit's State Theatre, is played every night.

Alhambra Theatre
San Francisco, California
Opened: November 5, 1926
Architects: Miller and Pflueger
Capacity: 1625
Organ: Wurlitzer 2/6

Timothy Pflueger's second theatre design stands as an excellent example of how to make the most of an unsatisfactory site. To prevent the building from overpowering a narrow street, Pflueger made the facade lower than the roof, but just high enough to conceal the bulk of the auditorium behind it. The sidewalls of the auditorium curve in sharply to fit a lot which narrows towards the rear. These curved walls worked so well that Pflueger incorporated them into all of his subsequent jobs. With no room for the organ in the usual side location, he put it in the ceiling, speaking through the dome.

Built by the Nasser Bros., the Alhambra was operated by them until the early '70s. When Blumenfeld Theatres leased the house, they twinned it with a wall down the middle, replacing an excellent single-screen house with a terrible twin. In 1988 the wall was removed and the interior restored. At the end of their lease, Blumenfeld did not renew, and the house is now closed.

Rose Theatre
Port Townsend, Washington
Opened: 1904
Closed: 1958; converted to retail space
Recreated: 1992

Robert "Rocky" Friedman recreated the theatre in 1992 from a few remaining scraps: one sidewall and the ceiling. The Rose seats 158 and may be the smallest theatre with a balcony, which seats eight. A second auditorium, the Rosebud, was added in 1995. The stud lighting on the pressed-metal facade was reactivated in November 1998.

Other theatres in Port Townsend are the Uptown, converted from a lodge hall in 1947, and the Wheel In Motor Movie, where it's still 1953. Both are operated by Dick and Sharon Wiley, who were recently given a Certificate of Appreciation from the Jefferson County Historical Society for their continued operation and thoughtful maintenance of the Wheel In.