Historic San Francisco Cinema sign removed

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The iconic symbol of San Francisco’s past was torn down Friday when a construction crew removed the eponymous sign from the historic Alexandria Theater in the Richmond area.

The theater on Geary Boulevard has been empty since it closed in 2004, and the property has changed hands several times over the years. In September, representatives from the theatre’s previous owner, TimeSpace Group, sent a letter to city officials telling them they hope to turn the property into dozens of new homes.

TimeSpace built 43 luxury condominiums in a former parking lot. Five units were allowed at below market rates.

City officials on Friday said the property is in a new owner but did not provide any details. Standard contacted the new owners through the city’s building inspection department.

On January 10, the city issued a Notice of Infringement to the theater detailing how the sign “detached” from the south side of the building and created a potentially unsafe environment.

“The sign will be preserved. Demolition work is being carried out under the supervision of a licensed civil engineer, after which they will receive a building permit,” Patrick Hannan, a spokesman for the city’s Building Inspection Department, told The Standard in an email. “That’s what we allow when there’s an immediate security issue.”

Defenders of the thriving arts scene in San Francisco have been less than pleased with the theater’s developments since last year.

Alphonso Felder, board member of the San Francisco Area Theater Foundation, previously told The Standard that using the property in Alexandria for housing only would be a missed opportunity. So far, housing has never before been offered for ownership.

“From a community perspective, everyone loses because the building is just standing there and there is pressure to just see something built and the original agreement gets lost along the way,” Felder said.

But not everyone agrees, as no other proposals have been received.

Dan Sider, head of planning, told The Standard in September that building housing on the site makes sense for the area.

“[Housing] suitable for this site, no doubt,” said Sider. But everything else is an open book.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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