Restoration work at SF Castro Theatre starts after contentious debate and opposition
SAN FRANCISCO - After years of contentious debate, the iconic Castro Theatre has finally started restoration work.
Another Planet, the company that operates the theater for the family who owns it, said the seats will be sold, and the money will be donated to charity.
The people leading the project invited a KTVU crew inside the theater as they pulled back the curtain to show the work that was being done.
The seats that were a bone of contention have been removed.
There was also artwork on the ceiling that had been hidden behind layers of paint and dirt.
The frame of the movie screen has now been exposed. There was scaffolding from floor to ceiling.
"Blending the story of the old and the new and revealing the stories that are trying to get out," said Mary Conde, senior vice president with Another Planet.
Stories that Jeff Greene, a restoration expert, would help reveal while preserving the art in the original architecture by Timothy Pflueger who designed the theater.
Greene brought a KTVU crew 35 feet up a scaffolding to get a close up look at the condition of the ceiling and walls.
"We cleaned this today," said Greene as he pointed to a cherub on the wall.
The first phase was assessing and peeling back the layers of dirt and nicotine from years of people smoking in order to show the original artwork.
There were some surprises.
Green said the cleanup work uncovered dragons in the artwork on the ceiling which had an Asian motif.
He said many items can be restored, but some features such as decorative tassels that are missing, will need to be replicated.
The final stage of the restoration will be the stage and include putting in a new lift for the organ.
He said the core of his mission is to recapture the magic of this theater,"We want to preserve the sense of this place so when people come back in, it'll be new and a surprise, and it will be as it was originally."
Conde has been overseeing this project.
She estimated the restoration will cost more than $15 million.
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"We know this is the most important LGBTQ gathering place in the country, if not the world. And we want that community to come here and feel like their palace has been restored," said Conde.
Greene estimated that the restoration of the ceiling and the walls would take six months.
The goal was to have all the work done and welcome the public back in the summer of 2025.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.