In two separate votes Thursday, city officials in San Francisco paved the way for the removal of hundreds of cinema-style seats that are fixed to the orchestra floor of the Castro Theatre, part of a series of renovation plans that aim to transform the century-old movie theater into a multipurpose venue.
The city’s Historic Preservation Committee voted unanimously Thursday to approve a certificate that will allow Another Planet Entertainment, the theater’s operator, to remove the seats and replace them with motorized platforms that can be pulled back to create standing room for concerts and other live events. In a separate vote, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted 4-2 to approve a proposed use expansion that will allow for additional changes.
Thursday’s votes represent the latest in a bitter yearlong saga at the Castro Theatre, one that has pitted Another Planet Entertainment and the Nasser family, the theater’s owners, against community groups that hope to preserve the theater’s legacy as a single-screen cinema palace and longtime gathering space for the city’s LGBTQ community. At issue are the 800 seats affixed to the theater’s orchestra floor — the removal of which, advocates say, will irrevocably alter the theater’s character.
“We’re upset. We’re disappointed. We’ve been looking to the city for leadership to repair community relationships that have been frayed by APE’s takeover of the Castro Theatre. With a few notable exceptions, that leadership has been lacking,” Jen Reck, the executive director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, said in a statement after Thursday’s votes. “… This is about community access to our community’s most important landmark. APE has done the bare minimum, and would have done less if not for our advocacy. We’re proud of that work. We’ll take some time to assess where we’re at before determining next steps.”
Proponents of the alterations say that changing the theater into a multipurpose venue is necessary to keep the building financially viable. The Nasser family has said that most of its regular screenings have yielded net losses in recent years, and the family has given Another Planet Entertainment wide latitude in making changes that will allow the venue to supplement its film ticket proceeds with money made from other events. In addition to replacing the 800 ground-floor seats with movable platforms, Another Planet Entertainment’s proposed $15 million overhaul includes upgrades to the screen, dressing rooms and ventilation system, as well as the restoration of aging interior features such as the ceiling and chandelier.
Thursday’s vote of the city’s Historic Preservation Committee granted Another Planet Entertainment a certificate that is necessary for making alterations to a historic city landmark, an honorific that the theater was given in the 1970s. The following vote of the city’s Planning Commission will let the company construct bars within the theater and designate nighttime entertainment in addition to film showings as primary uses of the facility.
“I and everyone at Another Planet love the Castro Theatre and the Castro neighborhood. Our commitment to and celebration of the LGBTQ communities is long term and unshakable, especially in a time when these communities are under attack,” Another Planet Entertainment CEO Gregg Perloff said in a statement after Thursday’s votes. “This project is a labor of love for us, and we will make everyone proud to be part of it. Thank you for giving us this stewardship.”
Thursday’s votes came soon after a critical vote by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; in a 6-4 decision, the board rejected a proposal to include the theater’s fixed orchestra-level seating as part of its historic landmark designation, which would have barred Another Planet Entertainment from making any changes to those seats. Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Ahsha Safaí, Joel Engardio, Matt Dorsey, Catherine Stefani and Myrna Melgar voted against the proposal, while Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Shamann Walton, Dean Preston and Connie Chan voted to approve it. District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen was absent from that meeting.