Grab Bag #012

Me these days

Sign of the Times

I thought the sidewalk barriers and the rented boom lift meant the graffiti was finally going to be painted over. But I saw from a block away the worker cutting into the sign and I began jogging.

You can read about it on SF Gate or San Francisco Standard or the Richmond Review. Any change to the old Alexandria Theatre is newsworthy, as it has sat decaying since the last film showed in February 2004—yes, 19 years ago this month.

Coincidentally, I was scheduled to give an illustrated presentation on theatres of the Richmond District the next week at the spiffed-up and reopened 4 Star Theatre in the Outer Richmond District.

Covid had been just the latest threat to the 4 Star and I was certain it was the one that would put the 110-year old cozy jewel box in its grave.

But thanks to an anonymous hero who purchased and restored the building, I am able to watch Michelle Yeoh, Robert Mitchum, and Angelina Jolie on a big screen again. Reclined in a comfortable seat in a wide aisle, I am transported not only by the stories, but by the shared experience of gathering with other people indoors for entertainment: a situation I wasn’t sure would ever happen again.

In the glow of this triumph for the 4 Star—rare good news for a neighborhood movie theater—the Alexandria five blocks away was having pieces hacked off it.

Egyptian Grandeur

The Alexandria opened as the city’s first Egyptian-themed theater on the northwest corner of 18th Avenue and Geary Street (now Boulevard) on November 26, 1923. On the rounded façade six papyrus-topped columns rose above the marquee. A stepped pyramid on the roof sprouted a massive flagpole supported by sphinxes. The entry and lobby featured ankhs, palms, and winged suns.

Ben Black, leader of the theatre’s house band, teamed up with Neil Morét to write a commemorative theme song for the Alexandria’s opening. It’s a catchy tune, with Tin Pan Alley Arabian riffs. I was able to copy the sheet music from friend Jack Tillmany’s collection and had Lisa Sanchez and Doug McKeehan record it:

Over its life, the Alexandria received various cosmetic additions, minor make-overs, and modernizations to keep up with the times.

A heavy and incongruous blade sign went up in the 1930s and was then replaced with a sleek rocket-ship strip topped with curves of multi-colored neon. The simple entry awning gave way to a streamlined marquee electrified with lights able to cut through any summer fog.

Both signs were visible from way up either side of Geary. Along with these exterior updates, a lot of the Egyptian decor was covered over or chipped off, supplanted by Art Deco nymphs, curling flowers, and gilded waves.

The last time I was able to get inside the building about 6 years ago, a lot of the ornamentation was still in place, including the massive chandelier which survived the triplexing of the theater in the 1970s.

When the blade sign demolition news came out, I received some of the usual push-back on social media: tear it all down and build housing, they said.

Housing is fine with me. Restored, the theater elements of the building would elegantly complement any use, including housing. I can see people clamoring for the cachet of living in “The Alexandria.”

The real issue is that the city has approved projects for the site and the Alexandria’s revolving ownership groups have never done anything with the building beyond letting it crumble into a sad eyesore.

My message is simple and directed at the owners: Be good neighbors. Respect the businesses and residents of the Richmond Distict. Whatever your plans are, take care of your property and this great building.

Goats at the Highest Level

After reading my recent story on San Francisco’s early 20th century goat cart photographer, Mary Montella clued me in on how high the goat cart craze went: to the uppermost echelons of power.

The grandchildren of United States president Benjamin Harrison patrolled the White House grounds powered by “Old Whiskers,” shown above in 1891.

You can read about the day the president likely regretted his indulgence in goat-cartery on the Presidential pet museum website. (Yes, that is a thing):

New Clothes

The facade modernizations of the Alexandria theatre were fairly minor compared to what happened to many San Francisco houses in the middle of the 20th century.

“Never paint again,” was the promise of contractors to owners of old houses. Original Victorian millwork details were stripped off or covered with more weather-resistant materials.

Stucco was slathered, asbestos shingles tacked up, and fake stone glued on hundreds of buildings. Sometimes the contractors added new facade details on top, mirroring popular period revival styles.

“Friend of Woody” Art Siegel noticed on the great OpenSFHistory photo archive a before/after example of this practice, and one done much earlier than most. Below is the west side of Church Street viewed from Liberty Street in April 1914.

The Department of Public Works was documenting the street, perhaps for plans to pave the dirt road. Note the Italianate style cottage second from the right. It stands in a bit of a hollow, obviously constructed before the city had set the street grade.

Below is the same view in December 1914. The street still hasn’t been paved, but our cottage has been transformed over the intervening eight months.

Raised, with most of its staircase now inset in the building, the facade has been encased in stucco and given a new parapet.

The end result for our old Italianate was a mash-up costume of Spanish and Classical Revival styles: red clay tile on the bay and lining the new parapet, which also received a couple of globed finials. A window with arched molding replaced the old front entryway, with the ram’s head in the arch likely a recent addition.

While many of us would pine for the original Victorian, all in all, it’s a fairly handsome and well-kept house with a grand view downtown over Dolores Park.

Three of the four buildings in our original photograph are still standing. The houses on each end had garages installed, along with some smaller changes, and the old barn is gone, replaced in 1930 by a very exuberant residence of mottled stucco and Zorro-inspired balconies.

Perhaps most importantly, the street did finally get paved.

Membership cards!

Artist Christine Innes has created beautiful “Friends of Woody” membership cards and printed a limited number on letterpress for us. She totally gets me with the bay window, steaming hot beverage, nuzzling fog, and, of course, the hat.

Want one? Of course you do! Drop me a line with your postal address and I'll send you one. Limited supply, however, so act quickly. Once the letterpress originals are gone I'll look into digital-printing more to keep this Cult of Personality going.

Goodish Movie Theatre News

Maybe the Castro will keep its orchestra-style seating... The current group running the show, Another Planet Entertainment, really wants to make the movie theatre into a concert venue, and they aren't the compromising types. So it will likely take some specific city legislation. We’ll see. Read more.

But the 4 Star is open and we had a full house on January 29th to talk about movie houses of the Richmond District both past and present. What a pleasure to talk in the beautiful space and put some great old photos on a big screen.

What was the evening’s “call-to-action?” Go support your theatre. See a show this week.

The Real Alexandria

Charming wife Nancy and I traveled to Egypt last month and had the honor of being in the real Alexandria, where San Francisco’s Alexandria theatre in its current state would fit in quite well.

By day, everything appears to be crumbling to ruins, albeit in some places with “faded rose” elegance.

But at night, fashionably dressed residents roll up security gates to reveal slick racks of cell phones, frying pans, flatware, t-shirts, sunglasses, books, blankets, jeans, tennis shoes, and knock-off Gucci and Versace.

Teens, couples, mothers with children, groups of languid young men all stroll in the middle of narrow streets between scooters, jitneys, trotting street dogs, and Ubers to shop, get an ice cream or a bowl of koshary, and take in the scene.

It was inspiring to see such vibrancy and energy amid what would be decried as hopeless urban decay here. We San Franciscans tend to get paralyzed by our challenges. We complain and carp and wait for problems to be “fixed” rather than getting out and living in this amazing place.

Let’s make the world we want. Go for a walk. See a show. Chat with the neighbors.

Let me know when you're free for a coffee or a beer. I'll buy, because I have the...

Woody Beer and Coffee Fund