End of an Affair at Bridge Theatre
Dateline: The Inner Richmond, 3010 Geary Boulevard where Mister SF watches the latest San Francisco movie house fade to black.
The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937 on the north side of the Presidio. Two years later, on July 21, 1939, its namesake Bridge Theatre opened across the hill and over the heights with a showing of the romantic drama “Love Affair.” Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer starred as the ill-fated Terry McKay and Michel Marnet who famously fail to hook up at the top the Empire State Building but later have a chance meeting in front of a theatre.
The final showing on December 27, 2012 was “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” directed by Stephen Chbosky based on his cult hit novel.
Click, tap, or browse for Detail photos >> The Bridge Theatre on its final day as a cornerstone of the community.
Click, tap, or browse for Detail photos >> The Bridge Theatre on its first day as an anachronism, awaiting its next life.
We’ll miss the interesting selection of films, the pop corn of course, and rousing introductions by Elizabeth in her Renaissance/Stevie Nicks-esque frocks. Special thanks to SF drag figure Peaches Christ, who in recent years succeeded in bringing back the midnight movie.
For Mr. and Mister SF, our last love affair with the Bridge was a late screening a few months ago of “Bernie” with Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine. In an interview earlier in both their careers, MacLaine told Mister SF, “It’s great to be in a city like San Francisco, where so many people understand what I’m writing about. I think something like the [Loma Prieta] earthquake makes this reflection deeper and deeper. I mean look at some of the things that happened… one person being killed 12 centimeters from someone else who was perfectly fine and you say to yourself, ‘Golly, what’s the karma of all that?’ That’s why I feel so comfortable in San Francisco because so many people ask themselves those questions.”
