 Peninsula movie houses, darkened by megaplexes,
are finding new life
Judy Richter
Chronicle Staff Writer
October 7, 2001
Once upon a time, the neighborhood movie theater was a center of American social life.
Whether an ornate Art Deco palace from the '20s or the more austere concrete block building from the post-World War II era, that's where almost everyone went for entertainment.
Over the years, however, many of those theaters went dark, eclipsed by multiscreen complexes. Some tried to compete by dividing into two or more spaces, but many of them failed, too.
Some sat vacant, decaying into eyesores that many people lamented but that few could remedy.
Now some of them are finding new life. Four former movie theaters on the mid-Peninsula are representative of that revival.
The Fox Theater in Redwood City has been restored for live entertainment, but the Laurel Theater in San Carlos has been razed and replaced with offices and apartments. The Belmont Theater in Belmont is being converted to a climbing and fitness center, and Hillsdale Cinema in San Mateo has become a retail store.
RESTORING THE FOX
The ornate Fox Theater on Broadway in downtown Redwood City is unique among the four theaters in that it was built as a vaudeville house in 1928. It was designed by James Merritt Reid, who also designed the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.
It became a single-screen movie theater, but shut down. Later it was the home of Peninsula Center Stage, a community theater affiliated with Palo Alto Players. John Anagnostou bought it from the theater group in October 1998.
Since then he and his project partner, construction manager Mike Monte, have been restoring it: reopening the balcony, adding rest rooms, installing facilities for the handicapped, upgrading the technology and just spiffing it up.
Because of its vaudeville origins, the Fox has fly space for scenery as well as dressing rooms for up to 75 people, said Anagnostou, who owns John Anagnostou Realty in Redwood City.
Anagnostou is working with Montalvo, a Saratoga concert and arts promoter, which has presented shows by blues artist Keb' Mo' and entertainer Tom Jones there. It could sponsor as many as 40 or 50 shows a year there, he said.
Other groups also have booked the 1,400-seat theater. The Jewish Film Festival attracted about 7,000 people to its screenings this summer, and Peninsula Ballet Theatre will present its annual "Nutcracker" during the holidays.
Anagnostou, who has restored other historic buildings in downtown Redwood City, is enthusiastic about its future. He notes that many restaurants have already opened, and a 20-screen movie theater is planned next to the Fox.
"Redwood City is going to become the entertainment town of the Peninsula," he said, "and the Fox is the centerpiece."
THE LAUREL FIGHT
The Laurel Theater in San Carlos was one of the single-screen theaters built a few years after World War II.
The 400-seat theater at 1500 Laurel St. was popular for several decades, but it had "woefully inadequate parking," said Steve Watry, San Carlos director of community planning.
Watry said he recalls that after arriving in San Carlos in 1981, he went to the Laurel to see "Rocky Horror Picture Show," the flick notorious for raucous audience participation that included squirt guns - giving the theater a musty odor.
The Laurel closed in the mid-'80s, but its adjoining businesses remained open.
Over the years, the neighbors got used to the quiet and the availability of parking in the theater lot on Walnut Street.
Hence when developer John Baer of J.M.S. Development Partners, San Carlos, proposed tearing the theater down and starting afresh with businesses and apartments on Laurel Street and apartments on Walnut, he ran into opposition.
Despite the City Council's approval, some residents put a referendum on the ballot to nix his plans in the mid-'90s. They cited issues of parking, traffic,
height, impact on schools and historic preservation, Watry said.
In Baer's mind, though, "it was really an issue about apartments," the developer said. "It was a seriously decrepit structure" that couldn't be economically restored, he said.
City voters backed Baer's plans, voting about 70 percent in favor.
Now the 30,000-square-foot site has about 4,000 square feet of offices on the ground floor along Laurel, where the Chamber of Commerce and a software company have moved in.
Above them are apartments. Behind them is a three-story apartment building with ground-level garages. Altogether there are 42 units: 16 studios, 14 one- bedroom and 12 two-bedroom.
They rent for $1,300 to $2,200 a month.
As for the neighbors, "we haven't had any complaints," Baer said.
CLIMBING AHEAD
Unlike Baer, Micky Lloyd faced a warmer community reception when he proposed a Planet Granite rock-climbing gym in the defunct Belmont Theater.
Lloyd, who co-owns the Planet Granite in Santa Clara, wanted a second site farther north.
For its part, Belmont wanted a suitable use for the theater on El Camino Real at the San Mateo city line. Several ideas were floated, including a small church, but "we didn't think that was the proper use for a retail site," said Mayor Eleanor Hahn.
The Belmont opened as a single-screen, 630-seat theater in 1949 and added a second screen in 1962 and a third in the late '70s, Lloyd said. It closed for a while in the '90s, then reopened with second-run films, then finally shut down in 1997.
Like the Laurel, it screened "Rocky Horror Picture Show," recalled Planet Granite manager Dave Geissberger, who grew up in San Carlos and saw movies there.
Lloyd received city approval for his plans in February and has been acting as his own contractor. He expects Planet Granite to open in March.
His plans keep the exterior, including the old theater sign, basically intact except for some sprucing up.
He's remodeling the interior and raising the roof by about 13 feet to 45 feet.
The work includes ripping out the seats, leveling the floor with new concrete, removing the dividing walls and upgrading the rest rooms, said Geissberger.
The 45-foot-high climbing walls are built with a steel substructure and textured concrete skin with modular holds that can be changed, he said.
In addition, the building will have a gym and yoga studio. Activities will be geared for all ages and experience levels, Geissberger said.
Most of the parking will be along El Camino and on 42nd and 43rd avenues in San Mateo, said Carlos de Melo, Belmont's principal planner.
Hahn said the city sees the project as a good deal because it will generate sales tax revenue, provide recreation and preserve the facade.
GETTING ORGANIZED
San Mateo's Hillsdale Cinema on El Camino Real across from the Hillsdale Shopping Center opened in the early 1960s with one screen and later was remodeled for four screens.
It closed a few years ago when its operator, General Cinema, left the California market, said Larry Ivich, general manager of Hillsdale Shopping Center.
The site is part of the Hillsdale property, which is owned and operated by Bohannon Development Co.
Realizing that the 22,000-square-foot building was too small for today's movie theaters, Bohannon sought a retail tenant.
Touting the site's ample parking, convenient location and strong market, the company settled on Organized Living, which sells merchandise for storing and organizing at home. Ivich described it as "an organize your life retail experience. It's a good add to our existing mix."
The city planning staff approved the plans in June 2000. Because the building had plenty of parking but no historic or architectural significance, the plans didn't have to go to the Planning Commission or City Council, said Lori Matsukuma, associate planner.
Converting from a theater to a retail store involved removing the partitions, leveling and replacing the floor, and adding a loading dock, storerooms and more landscaping.
E-mail Judy Richter at jrichter@sfchronicle.com
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