Crucial Castro Theatre hearing dates pushed back to April

by John Ferrannini

Three city hearings relating to the future of the Castro Theatre’s landmark status and the appropriateness of Another Planet Entertainment’s plans for the interior of the historic movie palace have been pushed back to April, the Bay Area Reporter has learned.

Initially, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ land use committee was set to take up the Historic Preservation Commission’s interior landmarking recommendation on March 13. The Historic Preservation Commission on February 1 had approved a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors that would preserve the interior of the Castro Theatre with the “presence of seating” after a marathon meeting that stretched into the evening hours, as the B.A.R. previously reported.

That upset advocates who want to save the orchestra seating in the historic movie house. They had urged the commission to instead amend the recommendation to include “fixed seating.” But the panel declined to do so. (The commission did vote to approve an amendment to extend interior landmark status to balcony seats that date to 1922.)

One of Another Planet’s most contentious plans calls for the orchestra seating to be removed. Just days before the Historic Preservation Commission meeting last month, David Perry, a gay man who’s spokesperson for APE, announced a revised seating plan for the theater that would preserve the raked element for film events. It includes a mo - torized floor that makes both raked seating and tiered standing arrangements possible, according to an announcement on the theater’s Facebook page.

Now that the Historic Preservation Commission has weighed in, the interior landmark proposal goes back to the Board of Supervisors for final approval, and the first step in that process is the committee hearing. The land use committee hearing will now be held Monday, April 3.

Last May, the Board of Supervisors voted in support of the enhanced interior landmark status, as the B.A.R. previously reported. That vote sent the item to the Historic Preservation Commission.

The exterior of the theater was designated a city landmark in 1977.

Other meetings

In addition to the supervisors’ voting a final time to expand the theater’s landmark, the Historic Preservation Commission was set to take up a certificate of appropriateness on APE’s plans for the building’s interior on March 15, followed by the planning commission on March 16. Those meetings have now been combined and been moved to April.

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“The subject was safely taken into custody and turned over to the Oakland Police Department. OPD is the lead agency, please direct any additional questions to the Oakland Police Department.”

Marsh, also known as drag artist Touri Monroe, was a hair stylist and a Miss Gay Oakland emeritus who used to sing with the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. Originally from Iowa, friends described him as fun, helpful, and active in his church. A memorial was held March 11 at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center where friends remembered Marsh. Police responded to the 200 block of Vernon Street in the Adams Point neighborhood just be - hill said. “The next land use meetings are full so [April] the third is when that’s going to be heard.” fore 8 a.m. March 4 after a report of a disturbance, Oakland Police Officer Darryl Rodgers stated in an email to the B.A.R.

That “disturbance” consisted of “reports of an individual screaming,” Chambers confirmed. When officers arrived, Oakland firefighters were on the scene extinguishing a fire.

“Upon arrival, officers located an Oakland resident with multiple lacerations,” Rodgers stated. “The victim succumbed to their injuries and medical units pronounced the victim deceased on scene. Investigators from the OPD Homicide Section responded to the scene to begin the follow-up investigation into the circumstances surrounding the homicide.”

Neighbors told KTVU-TV that the perpetrator set the fire and left the front door and gate open when running away. No motive has been given, nor the circumstances of if or how the two men knew one another.

The Alameda County Public Defender’s office stated to the B.A.R. that it is not representing Waterman, and an attorney for him could not be immediately located.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s office has not responded to a request for comment for this report as of press time. t

The delays have been for different reasons, according to Jackie Thornhill, a trans woman who is

It is typical procedure that what the land use committee – which consists of District 7 Supervisors Myrna Melgar, chair; Dis take up hearings on a certificate of appropriateness on APE’s plans to make significant changes to the theater’s interior.

“They [the two commissions] are going to consider whether to reward a certificate of appropri

Thornhill said she understands the reason for a joint meeting to be “to streamline the process because it’d take twice as much time to do two separate hearings.”

Perry told the B.A.R. that “Another Planet is looking forward to

“We are especially gratified by Frameline, Oasis Arts’, and BuildOUT California’s early and ongoing support and also the recent endorsements by the Castro CBD, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Donna Sachet, Movies for Maniacs, Lesbians Who Tech, and numerous ADA and accessibility advocates and local Castro residents and businesses,” he stated.

He was referring to Frameline, which holds its LGBTQ film festival at the Castro Theatre; Oasis Arts, a residency program for Bay Area artists in the LGBTQIA community; and BuildOUT California, an LGBT industry association focused on the construction trades and related businesses.

Those working to save the seats are also girding for the upcoming hearings.

The Castro Theatre Conservancy, a leading group behind the Save the Castro Theatre Coalition (which opposes the proposed changes), did not respond to a request for comment for this report as of press time.

But the coalition did elaborate on its position in an email announcement sent to supporters March 6. It is “requesting that the Draft Ordinance properly identify the character-defining features outlined in the Landmark Designation Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet states, ‘The seating constitutes a defining characteristic of the space as a historic cinema, configured in classic movie palace fashion in gently curved rows,’ and further expresses that the raked floors and sloping aisles in the orchestra mark the Castro Theatre as a classic movie palace.

“Given the significance of the orchestra configuration and the movie-palace seating for film heritage and LGBTQ intangible cultural heritage, and to properly reflect these findings, we are asking the Committee to clarify the language in the Draft Ordinance: replace ‘presence of seating’ with the words ‘fixed theatrical seating configured in movie-palace style,’” the coalition added.

Stephen Torres, a queer man who is secretary of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors (a coalition partner), called the delays “frustrating” but added that nonetheless the district is “pleased that the Theatre’s landmark status will be approved before APE tries to move forward with plans to gut this important LGBTQ community hub and turn it into some exclusive venue.”

Torres stated the coalition has a number of supporters of its ideas.

“Our community coalition includes the Castro Merchants, the GLBT Historical Society, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic clubs, SF Heritage, film festivals, and literally thousands of community members who have signed our petitions,” he stated. t

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