Northpoint Theatre
2290 Powell Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94133
2290 Powell Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94133
12 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: ABC Theatres, Cineplex Odeon, Plitt Theatres
Architects: Henry George Greene
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- May 21, 2010 — Happy 30th, "Empire"
- Aug 21, 2009 — "Alien" 30th Anniversary
- Aug 15, 2009 — "Apocalypse Now" 30th Anniversary
- Dec 12, 2007 — The (Mann) National Theatre loses final battle for historic landmark status
The Northpoint Theatre, San Francisco’s last major single screen house to be built, opened on June 28, 1967 with “The Dirty Dozen”. From the beginning, it was a major player in the San Francisco Celluloid Sweepstakes. Big films attracted big audiences; comfortable seats, a big wide screen, and state-of-the art projection and sound reminded them they were getting their money’s worth and kept them coming back for more.
From it’s initial presentation, one big film followed another, “The Hawaiians”, “Cabaret”, “The Exorcist”, “Earthquake” (in Sensurround), “Superman”, and “Alien”, were typical Northpoint fare. Sure, there were the usual occasional lapses, but they came and went quickly, always to make room for something bigger and better. But times change, tastes change, and films change.
By the mid-1980’s the Northpoint Theatre was looking and feeling tired. The overhead was going up, the theatre was getting run down, and even the best films were no longer attracting the numbers they once did.
The Northpoint Theatre closed on July 20, 1997, having served San Francisco for thirty glorious years; its ghostlike shell still stood vacant on the Southeast corner of Bay Street and Powell Street, one of the more recent headstones in the theatrical graveyard of yesteryear. By 2017 it was occupied by a Goodwill thrift store and they were still the occupiers in 2021. By 2025 they had moved out and the building was ‘For Sale’.
Contributed by
Tillmany
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Recent comments (view all 47 comments)
The interior lobby was modern and spare for the 1960’s. The auditorium was basically a wall to wall screen in the front, gold curtained walls on each side and a plain wall in the back with the elevated projection room. Grand or cathedral like it wasn’t. But it did boast excellent projection and sound … and that big screen.
June 28, 1967 grand opening ad posted.
Souvenir program for Apocalypse Now added to photos.
It looks like David Fincher’s “Zodiac” (2007) re-created the interiors of this theater, an entire ten years after it was closed. Looks very authentic and makes me wish you could still see movies there.
The interior shown in Zodiac was NOT the Northpoint. It was a theater in LA. I’ve forgotten the name of it now.
Zodiac was shot at the National Theater in Westwood, L.A.
A chronology of San Francisco’s 70mm presentations history has recently been published/updated. Northpoint, of course, gets several mentions in the piece.
Fifty years ago today THE EXORCIST opened here. Northpoint was among only two-dozen cinemas in twenty-one North American markets to play the film at release launch.
Later operated by Plitt, last operated by Cineplex Odeon.
I visited this site in 2023 and 2024. It’s just a shell. No business, no life. Nothing. I pray it stays that way long enough for someone to come and revive interest.