Metro Theatre (San Francisco, California)

The Metropolitan Theatre was designed in the Spanish colonial revival style by the Reid Brothers (James Reid and Merritt Reid).{{Cite book |last=Tillmany |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SoMTCt1KXoC |title=Theatres of San Francisco |date=2005 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-3020-8 |pages=97 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Rand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMuQi_WnKyQC&pg=PA74 |title=Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past |date=2002 |publisher=Heritage House Publishers |isbn=978-1-879367-03-6 |pages=74–75 |language=en}} It opened on April 23, 1924 as a second run theater, by Samuel H. Levin of San Francisco Theatres Inc., who also owned the Alexandria and Coliseum theaters in San Francisco. The first film shown was The Fighting Coward (1924), a silent film directed by James Cruze.

In 1941, the building was remodeled in an Art Deco style by Otto A. Deichmann and Timothy L. Pflueger. After the remodel, the name was shortened to "Metro Theatre". In the 1950s the reputation of the theatre increased after being the venue for the first San Francisco International Film Festival on December 4–18, 1957.{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Sangjoon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sjXUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |title=Cinema and the Cultural Cold War: US Diplomacy and the Origins of the Asian Cinema Network |date=2020-12-15 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5232-2 |pages=117 |language=en}} Films screened at the first festival included The Captain from Köpenick (1956 film).{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2TEEaCrPiWsC&pg=PT336 |title=Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time |date=2011-11-11 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-60819-738-5 |pages=336–337 |language=en}}

In March 1992 during the release of the erotic thriller film Basic Instinct (1992), women's groups such as the National Organization of Women (NOW) and queer groups in San Francisco and Los Angeles protested the depiction of women and violent queer love in this film.{{Cite book |last=Couvares |first=Francis G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D5R7NNAuH1AC&pg=PA297 |title=Movie Censorship and American Culture |date=2006 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=978-1-55849-575-3 |pages=297–298 |language=en}} The Metro Theatre in San Francisco saw one of the largest protests on opening night, with some 100 protestors. In 1998, the building had a renovation to preserve the theatre back to the state of the 1941 Art Deco style.

It was part of the Regal Entertainment Group before its closure in 2006. In 2009, a property developer committed to preserving the interior murals by Anthony Heinsbergen, ioinic columns, grilles and urns; and the building was converted in to a private gym.

• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks

{{Reflist}}

{{Movie theaters in San Francisco}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Former cinemas and movie theaters in California

Category:Theatres in San Francisco

Category:Theatres completed in 1924

Category:San Francisco Designated Landmarks

Category:Art Deco architecture in California

Category:Art Deco cinemas and movie theaters

Category:Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California

Category:Spanish Colonial Revival cinemas and movie theaters