Coronet Theatre

I cant believe the theatre is gone!, I was the Asst. Manager there in 1971, my first management job, I was being groomed by Al Levin, I thought many of days I would never make it the Man was tough, But he was a good Manager. The Theatre was kept up in great shape. i remember, I was starting at the Tale end og Funny Lady. The theatre was still grossing 15,000 a week when it moved tho The Alexandria
I was on and off there for over 15 years. I was promoted to Manager and moved to San Bruno UA TANFORAN 4, but i always was Al’s Favorite when a block buster came Like STAR WARS they would have me run the Theatre with Al Levin, I would never forget the 24 opening night with lines doubling around the corner, who would have thought
it was going to be that big,,George Lucas liked the Coronet but he mixed all of his sound and did his print test at the Northpoint were I ended up after Larry Levin came in the picture,this man knew nothing about theatre operations, big dissapointment when Jim Gallagher retired, Bob Naify, Marshall Naify. and Arnold Childhouse made a mistake by hiring this idiot. But I watched this man distroy and empire of Gallager’s hard work, It was sad no monies were spent to maintain the theatres, and the started to show the wear under his management. But the Coronet was the flagship and was booked well even if there any product out there. I remember we Played Singing in the Rain for 4 weeks to FULL HOUSES, I remember when the janitors were on strike we had to clean the theatre and mop before we went home I remember when no contract was reached with Henry Meyers and the projectionest Union and we became the booth operators and Managers and Janitors, Working for the Naifys was a pleasure. So you didnt mind doing those jobs.Yes the days of having Claire at the Alexandria answering all the phones for the Alex, Col, Coronet Metro, Vogue, stonestown.Balboa, SHE USED TO SAY GOOD AFTERNOON/EVENING “SAN FRANCISCO THEATRES” which theatre please what an art for that when all of the theatres had a hit she worked 15 hours a day seven days a week in this cubby hole upstairs at the Alexandria with a peg board phone system from the 1930’s, Bud Tapper used to complain he had to pay her out of his budget. Al Bud and I used to meet next to the Coronet at Z’s Buffet and they would get hammered between shows, Those were the days>>!!

Has anyone read the new “Making Of Star Wars” book? I think the book overall is fantastic and a must-read for any fan, but contained within is some erroneous information pertaining to the post-production and distribution of the film. In particular, one glaring error appears in regard to the CORONET.

To summarize, there was some controversy surrounding “Star Wars” being pulled by court order to accommodate a booking of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.” The book’s author, however, erroneously claims that the matter was settled by having “Close Encounters” play at the NORTHPOINT while “Star Wars” stayed at the CORONET. This, of course, is not how the matter was resolved.

“Star Wars” was sent out for re-bid and wound up a week later at the CINEMA 21; “Close Encounters” did in fact play the CORONET; “The Goodbye Girl” played the NORTHPOINT at that time.

I found the error humorous considering the author singled out the CORONET no doubt due to its proximity to the headquarters of the company that produced the movie and for the many historical links between “Star Wars” and the city of San Francisco.

(1) Lucasfilm Ltd. for many years was based in Marin County, just a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, the company is based in San Francisco. (2) San Francisco is the city in which “Star Wars” was test-screened. (3) The CORONET was among the original theatres chosen to play the movie. (4) The CORONET had the highest boxoffice gross of the theatres in the U.S. that played the film during 1977.

You’d think that error would not have slipped through!

I remember seeing Camelot at the Coronet. We four couples drove up from San Jose. We all marveled at the beauty of the theatre which was so different from what we were used to. The experience turned out to be a very special night out for us in the 1960s.

R.I.P. :–(

At least the Alexandria is still standing, (as far as I know).

Unbelievable bullshit that this place is being taken apart. There is no sophisticated way to describe it.

Interior demolition of the Coronet apparantly began about 2 weeks ago. A huge debris box has been set up in the parking lot next to the theater and scaffolding has been erected inside. I have seen workers dumping wheelbarrows full of plaster & tile into the debris box and as I was passing there one day last week I saw them hauling out huge rolls of carpet that had been ripped out of the interior. -JimC-

The Coronet saga goes on.
You can read the latest news (Sept 2006) here:

View link

The theater is still standing (as of last week anyway) and the marquee says something about it being the future home of the senior center who owns it.

That’s one movie I don’t want to see.

Is the theatre still sitting there?

Indeed. Tearing down a single screen theater in ANY neighborhood is tragic.

I think that neighborhood did not get involved to protest or fight to save the Coronet theater.

Valuable real estate. Sad. At least the Coronet didnt undergo the indignity of being multiplexed itself. I’ve read about this theater for years………

Yes..those are very nice theaters, but the only one still showing first run films is the UA Metro.

Don’t forget the city still has the Orpheum, Golden Gate and the Warfield Theatres. Ok they found renewed life with stage shows and concerts, their still around and open.