San Francisco Movie House Closures
San Francisco movie house closures are listed spanning the period of 1978 to the present, grouped in the tables below by Art Houses and Repertory Cinemas, First Run Theaters, and Mission Street and Neighorbhood Theaters.
→ View news updates and additional info on San Francisco's movie houses and the efforts to save them. See also this site's coverage of the Castro Theatre, New Mission Theater and the Harding Theater.
Theater names in the three tables below link to corresponding pages on the encyclopedic Cinema Treasures website, that provide historical background info for each theater, photos, mapping, as well as related discussion threads that offer first-hand anecdotes about the lives of San Francisco's movie houses. Thanks to Tom Mayer for his contribution to the compilation of the list below.
Art Houses and Repertory Cinemas
| THEATER | LOCATION | COMMENTS |
| Times, formerly The Acme | 1249 Stockton | Closed 1976. Converted to retail stores. |
| Avenue | 2650 San Bruno Avenue | Now a church |
| Richelieu | 1075 Geary Street | Closed 1981 |
| Music Hall | 931 Larkin | Now a church |
| Larkin | 816 Larkin | Closed late 70's, reopened as The New Century Theater for adult entertainment |
| El Rey | 1070 Ocean Avenue | Closed 1977. Now a church |
| Cannery | 2801 Leavenworth | Closed 1978. Now a tavern |
| Ghirardelli | 900 North Point | Closed 1986. Reopened briefly as The Waterfront Theater. |
| Surf | 4510 Irving | Closed in 1985. Used as a church. |
| Cento Cedar | 38 Cedar Alley | Closed in 1988. Converted to architectural firm. |
| Parkside | 2205 Taraval | Closed in 1988. Auditorium gutted. Converted to day care center. |
| Pagoda Palace, formerly Milano Theatre, Palace Theatre, Washington Square Theatre | 1741 Powell | Razed 08/19/13 for use by SFMCP's Central Subway expansion project. |
| York | 2781 24th Street | Closed 1993. Restored/reopened in 2001 as Brava Women's Theater Arts |
| Gateway | 215 Jackson | Closed 1998. Reopened in 1999 as The Eureka Theater |
| Strand | 1127 Market | Closed February 2003. Sold to A.C.T. February 2012 to be renovated. |
| Lumiere | 1572 California | Closed September 23, 2012 due to lease dispute. |
| Bridge | 3010 Geary Blvd. | Closed on December 27, 2012 |
First Run Theaters
| THEATER | LOCATION | COMMENTS |
| Coronet | 3575 Geary | Closed March 17, 2005 |
| Alexandria | 5400 Geary | Closed February 2004 |
| Metro 2 (Mercury) | 2240 Union Street | Closed February 1986 |
| Coliseum | 743 Clement Avenue | Damaged in 1989 earthquake |
| Stage Door | 420 Mason | Now Ruby Skye nightclub |
| Northpoint | 2290 Powell | Closed 1998 |
| Embassy | 1125 Market | Demolished in 1994 following seismic damage from the 1989 earthquake |
| Alhambra (SF LM #217) | 2330 Polk | Closed February 1998, now Crunch Fitness |
| Royal | 1529 Polk | Closed February 1998; demolished fall 2004 |
| Regency 1 | 1290 Sutter/1320 Van Ness | Housed in the historic Dom Lee Building. Reopened September 1998 as AMC Van Ness 14 and closed February 19, 2019. Plans underway to reopen the theater as CGV 1000 sometime in 2020. |
| Regency 2 | 1268 Sutter | Closed March 26, 2000; former Avalon Ballroom |
| St. Francis | 965 Market | Closed 2000. Demolished 2013. |
| Cinema 21, now the Marina Theater | 2141 Chestnut | Closed 2001, remodeled and reopened in 2008 as the 2-screen Marina Theater, with Walgreens on the ground floor |
| Presidio | 2340 Chestnut | Closed 2003. Reopened December 26, 2004 by Frank and Lila Lee as a 4-screen multiplex |
| Metro | 2055 Union | Closed October 2006. To reopen as gym. |
| Market St. Cinema, formerly United Artists Theatre, Premiere Theater, Grauman's Imperial Theater | 1077 Market | Closed April, 2013. Added to National Register of Historic Places in 1986. |
Mission St. and Other Neighborhood Theaters
| THEATER | LOCATION | COMMENTS |
| Cine Latino (aka Crown, New Rialto, Wigwam Theatre) | 2555 Mission | Closed 1987. Plans reported in 2012 for conversion to a gym and restaurant. |
| Granada | 4631 Mission | Closed in 90's. Now a Goodwill store. |
| Grand | 2665 Mission | Renovated in 2014 and to reopen as Gray Area's New Art & Technology Theater |
| New Mission (SF LM #245) | 2550 Mission | Theater renovation started in 2013. Alamo Drafthouse reopens as a multiplex on December 17, 2015. Go here for in-site coverage. |
| Tower | 2465 Mission | Now a church |
| Apollo fomerly The Amazon | 965 Geneva | Opened 1928 as the Amazon; closed 1978. Now a Walgreens. |
| Harding Theater | 616 Divisadero | Opened 1926, closed in 1970; former venue for concerts, theater and church. Restored and reopens February 2018 as Emporiuim SF. Go here for in-site coverage. |
| Haight | 1702 Haight | Vacant for 20 years before being demolished in 1994 |
| El Capitan (SF LM #214) | 2353 Mission | Built 1928, closed 1963; now hotel and parking lot |
| Fox | 1350 Market | Demolished 1963; now site of Fox Plaza |
