Musings on Art Deco and Modernism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Local theatre buffs and preservationists have high hopes for a new project to save the New Mission Theatre, which has been empty and languishing for over a decade. In mid-February, a Texas group called the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema , and Toby Morris of Kerman Morris Architects, made a presentation at the city's architectural review committee… Continue reading High hopes for New Mission Theatre plans
The El Rey Theatre, the former movie palace that still towers over Ocean Avenue and parts of Ingleside Terraces, is turning 80 next month. To celebrate the anniversary, the Voice of Pentecost, which bought the building in 1977, is hosting a fund-raiser, and the organizers will be showing the same film that was featured during… Continue reading The El Rey Theatre to come back as a movie palace for a night
The Castro Theatre, architect Timothy Pflueger's first movie palace from 1922, is showing off a fabulous new exterior coat of paint. Now highlighted are the Spanish Baroque details of the exterior. A repaired hidden spotlight, when lit, illuminates the shell motif above the centerpiece mullioned window. Combined with the repairs in the late autumn of 2007 of the… Continue reading Castro Theatre gets a fab exterior makeover
Architectural historians are like detectives, sleuthing to figure out what happened at the scene of a crime. They use old photos, blueprints, layers of paint and other materials beneath the surface of remodeled historic buildings, looking for clues of the original architect's intent. They also try and determine what travesties occurred in the name of modernization. So a recent discovery of… Continue reading El Rey Theatre blueprints show what’s missing
This is a tad early for a save-the-date notice, but a special lecture is coming up next year. In January, I will be doing a talk on architect Timothy Pflueger for the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society. As a special treat, the lecture will take place inside the Pflueger-designed Alameda Theatre, resplendent since its $15.2 million restoration in the heart of downtown… Continue reading Next talk on Pflueger to be in a Pflueger
Timothy Pflueger Blog 