Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - April 28, 2004
Adriel Hampton, Staff Writer
Both former single-screen theaters, the New Mission and the Jose, are slated to join The City's list of registered landmarks.
The Jose, gutted long ago, is most significant for its former occupants. From 1987 to 2001, it sheltered the NAMES Project and the growing influence of the AIDS Quilt on world awareness of the disease. Gay community activist Cleve Jones in 1986 began the quilt -- nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 -- in memory of a lost friend.
After life as a garage, the old Jose became a community center for the local gay community to grieve and remember, and for others to deliver their own memorial panels. By 1993, the quilt had grown so large it needed more space. While the quilt moved to a new home in SoMa, the Jose became a visitor and volunteer center through 2001, when the NAMES Project moved to Atlanta. Jones is currently suing to bring the quilt back to San Francisco.
Political consultant Jim Rivaldo points out more gay history between the Jose's brick walls. After his election in 1977, Supervisor Harvey Milk moved his Castro Camera store to a corner of the old Jose.
Jones said he strongly supports the landmark status, not just for the quilt's history there, but also for Castro Camera.
Today, the seafood restaurant Catch flourishes on the site. Catch owner David Weiss, who has an option to buy the building, worked to restore the beat-up fa ade when he remodeled for the 2002 restaurant opening. He has one of the original AIDS Quilt panels to display when the landmark status is complete.
"At this point, I'm all for it," Weiss said.
Across town in the Mission, the road to landmark status for a signature theater -- which was open for movies until 1993 -- has been more difficult. Preservationists have for years pursued the designation for the New Mission and in 2001 the site was added to the National Register of Historical Places. In 1998, City College of San Francisco bought the theater lot to convert into a campus, sending preservationists into a frenzy. Neighborhood activists repeatedly challenged significant remodeling of the theater and Supervisor Tom Ammiano helped the college find another Mission site.
In December, City College trustees approved sale of the theater parcel to developer Gus Morad, who plans to convert the adjacent Value Giant store into a housing and retail project.
"Hopefully it will be the beginning of what will be one of The City's great cinemas actually opening its doors to people again in the Mission District," said Alfonso Felder of the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation.
Preservationists say most San Franciscans have little idea of the majesty that remains intact at the New Mission, the best surviving example of some 40 theaters large and small that made up the Mission Miracle Mile in the early to mid-1900s.
"Unfortunately, I think the presence on the street of the New Mission belies the significance of that building," said Charles Chase, executive director of San Francisco Architectural Heritage. "It needs a good steward."
Proposed landmarks
Jose Theater
Landmark No. 241
Location: 2362 Market St.
Significance: Built in 1908 and soon remodeled as a theater, the Jose sheltered the NAMES Project and the AIDS Quilt from 1987 through the '90s. It was also home to Harvey Milk's Castro Camera for a short time and features three-bay construction and a Mission Revival-style parapet.
New Mission Theater
Landmark No. 245
Location: 2550 Mission St.
Significance: Designed in 1916-1917 by the Reid Brothers, architects of the Fairmont Hotel. In 1932, architect Timothy Pflueger -- designer of the Castro Theater and the Paramount Theater in Oakland -- remodeled the New Mission. The interior features decorative plasterwork, including faces of Greek muses, ceilings with floral motifs and medallions, etched glass doors and Corinthian pilasters.
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