- By Adam Shanks | Examiner staff writer |
- Apr 4, 2023 Updated 16 hrs ago
The Castro Theatre with only three of the letters of its neon sign working on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
Another Planet Entertainment plans to embark on a large-scale renovation of the 100-year-old Castro Theatre in San Francisco’s Castro district.
- Photos by Craig Lee/The Examiner
CastroTheatre-24May2022-060.JPG
Preservationists have proposed an amendment to the iconic Castro Theatre’s landmark designation that would protect its “fixed theatrical seating configured in movie-palace style.”
- Craig Lee/The Examiner (SFexainer.com)
Adorned with buttons reading “Save the Seats,” advocates for the preservation of the Castro Theatre want to be abund antly clear what they mean.
That’s why they’re proposing an amendment to the iconic Castro Theatre’s landmark designation that would protect its “fixed theatrical seating configured in movie-palace style.”
In other words — no ripping out the seats when the theater’s operators, Another Planet Entertainment, would rather host a concert than screen a movie.
The advocates might get their way.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro District, signaled his tentative support for the fixed-seating amendment on Monday. But he first plans to spend the next two weeks hurriedly attempting to bring together both sides of the aisle.
“I think they have made some significant movement toward addressing concerns that were raised by the film community, by the LGBTQ+ community, the local neighborhood merchants and residents,” Mandelman said. “I have had fruitful conversations with (Another Planet) and Castro Theater stakeholders that lead me to be hopeful that we can get to the ‘win-win-win’ I have described elsewhere, but we’re not there yet.”
In absence of a deal between activists and operator, Mandelman suggested the fixed seating amendment could be the best path forward, “but we’re not there yet, either.”
Another Planet hopes to inject new life into the century-old theater, and its plans include replacing the old moviehouse’s fixed seating with a motorized raked floor.
For live events, seats would be removed and the raked floor recessed, providing a tiered arrangement that allows for greater capacity. For movies, the floor would be sloped with rows of seats, ensuring a mostly head-free view of the screen in front.
Another Planet argues that such flexibility, which allows for both movies and live concerts, is essential to the viability of the theater’s operation in 2023.
That proposed set up irks preservation advocates, who believe it disrupts the theater’s historic character as a movie house and will lead to The Castro becoming just “another concert venue” in San Francisco, as one opponent of Another Planet’s plans put it during a Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting on Monday.
Mandelman’s overture on Monday was just the latest in a long saga over the theater’s future since Another Planet announced last January that it would take over operations at the Castro and embark on a massive renovation plan.
In the face of robust opposition from the neighborhood, Another Planet has made commitments that include LGBTQ-specific programming and a promise that one-third of its programming will be dedicated to film screenings and festivals.
The opposition to Another Planet has not been unanimous. The prominent Berkeley-based concert promoter has touted several endorsements, including from the Frameline Film Festival and Castro Community Benefit District.
Last year, Mandelman and his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors asked the city’s Historic Preservation Commission to review and make recommendations for an update to the theater’s historic landmark designation — including considering an extension of its protections to the inside of the Castro, not just the outside.
In February, the Historic Preservation Commission proposed an updated landmark designation, which includes “the presence of seating.” But the language left some ambiguity that advocates wanted replaced with specificity.
They proposed an amendment — which the Board of Supervisors’ land use committee signaled its likely support of on Monday — that reads ““fixed theatrical seating configured in movie-palace style.”
“We feel this ambiguity may lead to irrevocable changes currently submitted by the current tenant that will further destabilize this community asset, and by extension have devastating effects on a community that has already suffered from the immense loss caused by gentrification and two worldwide pandemics,” Stephen Torres, executive co-chair of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Advisory Board, wrote in a March letter to supervisors.
That change would be substantive enough that it requires another review and hearing by the committee, which is next scheduled to meet on April 17. From there, it would head to the full Board of Supervisors for a final vote.
In the meantime, Mandelman said he will continue to broker negotiations between community activists and Another Planet.
“If I’m not successful in that effort, the amendment would be available for the committee to act on in two weeks,” Mandelman said.
Mandelman initially said last year that the landmark designation was prudent regardless of Another Planet’s plans for the theater. But on Monday, he acknowledged that it “the great public interest in this update is inseparable from the project proposal that is currently scheduled for consideration by the (Historic Preservation Commission) and the Planning Commission on April 13.”
Any change to the landmark designation would impact both commissions’ review of Another Planet’s planned theater upgrades, Mandelman said.
Thus, Mandelman asked that the review of Another Planet’s proposal — which is separate from the landmark designation — be delayed by another month, until May 18.
