There was once a time when going to the movies wasn't just about going to the movies. It was about the whole experience. Old movie palaces that were opulently-built on purpose, as if to take you away from your regular life, if only for a few hours.
The Castro Theatre is one of those places you arrive a little early to take in the splendor, maybe take a picture or two, and enjoy the organ performance before the first feature.
This amazing theatre has served my family for three generations now. My grandmother and mother both saw movies here back in the day (they lived on 17th Street at Diamond before moving to Petaluma in 1962). My first double bill was Blue Velvet and Blood Simple, back in 1986.
So glad to see that in a time of streaming NetFlix, that this movie still can bring 'em in.
And The Castro wasn't even one of the movie palaces. As my mother (a native San Franciscan born in 1927) said, "The Castro was just one of the neighborhood theaters. Places like The Fox on Market Street were the real spectacular theaters."
ReplyDeleteyeah, i did a post on the Fox a while back. i'm doing the mission st. theatres right now and may move on to the market st. palaces later.
ReplyDelete