From this…

To This…

In February, the American Conservatory Theater purchased the shuttered Strand Theatre and whitewashed the strip club adverts on the side. The last theater to show projected movies on Market Street, the Strand was built in 1917 as part of the Grauman chain. The theater changed hands (and names) several times in it’s first decade before being renamed The Strand in 1928. Run by the West Side Theater Company from 1940 to 1977; The Strand featured triple bills and nightly bingo games. Purchased in 1977 by Mike Thomas, the owner of the Warfield, Crest, and Embassy theaters, The Strand was remodeled and the programming changed to “revival cinema”, i.e. film classics. During this period, The Strand hosted celebrities such as Lana Turner, Sophia Loren and Mae West as well as midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Closed briefly in the 80′s due to economic issues and the Loma Prieta earthquake, The Strand would open as a porn theater in 1994. Raided by the SFPD in 2003 due to vice complaints, the Strand has been shuttered since 2006.

Originally an 800-seat theater – the remodeled and retrofitted Strand will eventually feature a 300-seat theater, a restaurant, rehearsal rooms, and a space for readings.

More history on the Strand:
* upfromthedeep.com/mid-market/
* cinematreasures.org/theaters/5741

More info on the ACT purchase:
* http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/28/MNJG1ND63R.DTL#ixzz1xhWUoeeD
* http://centralmarketpartnership.org/2012/03/the-strand-theaters-next-act/