Avenue Theatre (San Francisco)
The Avenue Theatre was a movie theater in San Francisco that operated from 1927 until 1984.
History
[edit]The theater opened on July 20, 1927, built and operated by four Levin brothers who owned other theaters in the area.[1][2] It was located in the Portola neighborhood.[2] The theater ran promotions wherein patrons could collect dinnerware, one piece at a time, on a weekly basis.[2] Management changed in the mid-1960s, when the Lyric Photoplay Film Society, under Edward Millington Stout III, took over.[1] In 1966 the Society installed a Wurlitzer theater organ of 3 manuals and 16 ranks, which had originally been the organ at the State Lake Theater in Chicago.[1][3] The first show utilizing the "new" organ took place on October 7, 1966, screening The Lost World and featuring Tom Hazelton on the console.[3] The theater then began showing an eclectic assortment of films, including foreign films, re-runs of three-dimensional films and silent films (for which the organ was utilized).[1][3]
Lyn Larsen was staff organist for the next two years, 1967 through 1968.[3] Bob Vaughn began as organist in 1968, and remained the organist at the Avenue until it closed.[3] The American Theatre Organ Society featured this organ in its 1975 and 1983 national conventions.[3] The theater developed a loyal following, but crime from the surrounding area eventually kept patrons away.[1] The theater closed on December 22, 1984, amid financial difficulties.[3][2] Before the organ was placed in storage, an album by Jim Riggs entitled Top Hat was recorded on it.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Tillmany, Jack (2005). Theatres of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 9780738530208.
- ^ a b c d Garibaldi, Rayna (2007). San Francisco Portola. Arcadia Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 9781439634073.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mullins, Edward J. (January 1985). "Personalities". Theatre Organ. 27 (1): 26–27. ISSN 0040-5531.
37°43′41″N 122°24′14″W / 37.728181°N 122.403962°W
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