Word has gotten out that the historic Clay Theatre on Fillmore Street will close at the end of the month. The Clay, which opened in 1910, is one of the oldest theaters in San Francisco.
Reaction around the neighborhood was uniform. Sandy Mullin, a longtime employee of nearby Browser Books, expressed her disappointment at the announcement. “It’s a blow to the neighborhood. It is a wonderful theater. It has a wonderful staff. I loved it when they showed European films, and art house films. I’m sad,” said Mullin.
The Clay, which first opened as a nickelodeon (admission to the movies was then only 5 cents) , has played host to many memorable screenings, special events, and film festivals over the years. On closing weekend, the Clay will host another screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the cast of the participatory film event putting on a funeral for the theatre.
Since 1991, the Clay has been part of a chain of theaters operated by Landmark Theaters. The last day for the Clay is expected to be August 29.
Built in 1910 by the Naify brothers, the Clay was at first a nickelodeon house. During the silent film era, as a neighborhood theatre, it served as second run venue for the popular films of the day. In August of 1926, the theater showed The American Venus, a romantic comedy set at a beauty pageant. The film was especially popular locally as it starred Fay Lanphier, the 1925 Miss America who hailed from Oakland.
In April of 1935, Herbert Rosener reopened the Clay as The Clay International, a foreign film showcase. In the early 1970s, the theatre was part of the Surf Theatres group, run by pioneering San Francisco film exhibitor Mel Novikoff. In 1972, the Clay hosted one of the earlier (but not the first) regular midnight movie screenings with the showing of John Water's Pink Flamingos. It also showed many other once controversial and ribald films, including The Life of Brian. The Clay hosted the world premiere of Divine's Lust in the Dust in the mid 1980s.
Since Landmark assumed management in 1991, the Clay has been refurbished with digital sound, new seats, and an extensive touching-up of its art deco and classic Greek accoutrements. The combination of classic appointments and modern amenities had helped keep the Clay a comfortable place to see unique film programming – until now.
The Clay will not be forgotten. It is one of a number of theaters which are featured in a new book, Left in the Dark: Portraits of San Francisco Movie Theaters, by R.A. McBride and Julie Lindow. The book, a pictorial, includes textual contributions from local luminaries like Eddie Muller, Rebecca Solnit, and Gary Meyer. More info on this new book, including a few images of the Clay, at http://leftinthedark.info/
More info: A Landmark Theaters informational page can be found at here. Additional information and links to contemporary and historic images of the theater can be found on Cinema Treasures.
Thomas Gladysz is an arts journalist and author. Recently, he wrote the introduction to the new “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Böhme's classic book, The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). Gladysz loves reading and writing and watching old movies at his book and DVD filled San Francisco apartment. More at www.thomasgladysz.com.
Comments
News of the Clay closing is, indeed, very sad. I love the Clay and have been going to great movies there since the 1970's. A sad day in San Francisco and Fillmore Street loses another jewel in the crown.
Very, very sad. I moved to San Francisco in December, 1975 and the Clay was the first movie theater I went to (Lina Wertmuller's SWEPT AWAY). I was there just last week to see the new Todd Solondz film.
The closure of the Clay is a loss for San Francisco movie goers. The theater was nearly 100 years old. Whenever we loose a part of our local history, we also loose a little part of our personal histories. . . . Whenever I go past The Clay, I think of "Amelie." I saw that film there with my wife. It was her birthday. I love that film, and the occasion was made all the more memorable because we saw it at The Clay.
Landmnark is moving out of the Clay but a new theatre operator may take over the lease? Landmark needs to get out of the tiny dumpy Lumiere & extra small Opera Plaza Theatres in SF and with the money they save stay at the Clay.
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