Empire Cinema

by Richard Brandi

Although no architecturally significant structures have been designated on West Portal Avenue, the movie theater has been a fixture since it opened as the "Portal Theatre" on December 26, 1925. Renamed and re-opened on October 1, 1936 as the "Empire", it had its single screen split into three in 1974.

The West Portal History Walk
Previous stop --- Next stop

Images: 1) Portal Theatre, December 1925. Courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library; 2) Empire Cinema, June 1966. Courtesy of Jack Tillmany.

Source: Information courtesy of historian Jack Tillmany.

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!

Page launched 1/22/02