Thank you for your support of the Castro Theatre Conservancy’s efforts to preserve the historic Castro Theatre. We are working to ensure that the Castro remains the beloved icon of its community and the City. And we still need your help!
Plans are moving fast towards changing the theatre, eliminating the sloped floor and removing the theatrical seating. Those features are not only essential to the filmgoing experience at the Castro, but are also key historical characteristics that define the venue as a cinema and performance space. The proposed changes to the orchestra floor will either make the theatre no longer usable for the LGBTQ+ community, film festivals, and others, or it will add an enormous expense to rental fees for temporarily restoring “normal” seating.
Dozens of historic movie houses across the United States—including the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and the Paramount Theatre in Oakland—have undergone renovations and maintained their sloped floor and permanent seating while thriving as multi-use spaces. That’s what we hope to see at the Castro Theatre, as it will guarantee that film festivals, luminaries of the world of cinema, LGBTQ+, and other community events are able to continue using and appearing at the Castro Theatre at affordable prices.
The Castro Theatre Conservancy—made up of artists, patrons, and supporters who love the Castro—wants to ensure that after the renovation, independent producers, film festivals, LGBTQ+, and community groups can continue to call the Castro home.
Here’s where you come in!
- Keep in touch with the Castro Theatre Conservancy: be the first to hear updates about preservation efforts and ways to get involved. Sign up for our mailing list here, and follow us @SaveTheCastro on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
- Save the date: Join the Castro Theatre Conservancy at the community meeting that Another Planet Entertainment is hosting at the Castro Theatre on Thursday, August 11, 6–7:30 p.m. Make clear when you are there that you want the main seating area of the theatre maintained as it has been for the last one hundred years.
Thank you again for your support—we’ll see you at the Castro!
Peter Pastreich
Executive Director, Castro Theatre Conservancy