ISBN: 0738530204
Price: $19.99

# of Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Publication Date: 08/31/2005

Book Description: You read the sad stories in the papers: another ornate, 1920s, single-screen theatre closes, to be demolished and replaced by a strip mall. That’s progress, and in this 20-screen multiplex world, it’s happening more and more. Only a handful of the 100 or so neighborhood theatres that once graced these streets are left in San Francisco, but they live on in the photographs featured in this book. The heyday of such venues as the Clay, Noe, Metro, New Mission, Alexandria, Coronet, Fox, Uptown, Coliseum, Surf, El Rey, and Royal was a time when San Franciscans thronged to the movies and vaudeville shows, dressed to the hilt, to see and be seen in majestic art deco palaces. Unfortunately, this era has passed into history despite the dedicated efforts of many neighborhood preservation groups.

Author Bio: Jack Tillmany, former owner of the Gateway Cinema in San Francisco and a revival programming pioneer, brings the city’s theatres to life in this amazing selection of vintage images. Drawing from his personal archive collected during a 30-year career in cinema management, he paints a detailed story of the golden age of theatre, both live and cinematic. It was a time of stunning architecture, elegance, and opulence, and this volume is a reminder of the pre-multiplex days when almost every neighborhood boasted its own beloved theatre.

To purchase online: www.arcadiapublishing.com