Pagoda Palace
Former movie theater and vaudeville venue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Pagoda Palace was a historic entertainment venue on Columbus Avenue opposite Washington Square in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Although best known under the Pagoda Palace name, the building had a much longer and more varied history, serving at different times as a vaudeville theater, an Italian-language cultural venue, a drama and opera hall, a conventional cinema, a repertory movie house, and a setting for live performance. The site was ultimately demolished in 2013 after roughly two decades of vacancy, and its final major public use was as the extraction point for the Central Subway project's tunnel-boring machines. Signora Antonietta Pisanelli opened the venue in either 1907 or 1909 as the Washington Square Theater. It stood on the site of the first Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, which had been completed in 1888 and destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The theater was designed to accommodate approximately 1,000 patrons for theatrical productions and opera. Its early programming reflected the cultural life of San Francisco's Italian community and included a 1909 benefit concert for Emilio Rivola. In 1911, the venue hosted political rallies supporting James Rolph, popularly known as Sunny Jim, during his campaign for mayor. The building became a movie theater in 1928. During the late 1920s it was known as the Milano Theater, and by 1938 or 1939 it had adopted the Palace Theater name. In 1967 it became the Pagoda Palace, a name associated particularly with its presentation of Chinese-language films. From 1969 to 1971, it also hosted The Cockettes, a San Francisco midnight drag revue whose performances connected the venue with the city's countercultural and queer performance history. In 1986, after the Renaissance Rialto chain assumed operations, the theater began presenting repertory films under the shortened name The Palace. The cinema ceased operations in 1994, leaving the property vacant. Several redevelopment proposals followed, including a proposed 24-hour Rite Aid pharmacy and a possible cinema, café, and bookstore complex. In 1999, the building was slated for conversion into Muriel's Theater, a live-performance venue. Its front facade was removed in preparation, but the plan collapsed after the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, leaving temporary plywood as the building's most visible exterior feature. Joel Campos acquired the property in 2004 and advanced several redevelopment concepts. A condominium conversion received approval in 2009, but neighborhood opposition and other complications delayed implementation. By then, much of the theater's interior and exterior ornament had been removed, leaving limited historical fabric. The vacant building also became part of local political debate. In 2008, Lynn Jefferson used the plywood facade as a campaign sign while running for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Her slogan, “Enough with the plywood,” criticized the prolonged impasse over the property and referred to opposition associated with the neighborhood organization Telegraph Hill Dwellers. A major turning point came in 2013, when the city and Campos agreed to use the property for extraction of the Central Subway's tunnel-boring machines, Big Alma and Mom Chung. The site was reclassified as the Central Subway Tunnel Boring Machine Extraction Site Special Use District. The arrangement allowed the city to lease the property for the extraction operation, while the owner received planning-code exemptions that permitted a replacement condominium building to retain aspects of the approved theater-site footprint, height, and massing. The two-year lease was valued at $3.15 million. The arrangement avoided excavating Columbus Street and was also discussed as a possible foundation for a future North Beach Muni Metro station, although the extraction plan generated controversy over neighborhood disruption and the structural implications of extending the tunnel. The theater was demolished in August 2013 after approximately twenty years without regular operations. The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the site among ten notable historic places lost that year. After the city lease expired in May 2015, the owner stated that a revised nineteen-unit luxury condominium project would proceed. Construction of The Palace at Washington Square began in March 2016, replacing the former theater site. Pagoda Palace therefore survives primarily as a locally significant chapter in San Francisco's theater, cinema, immigrant-cultural, queer-performance, preservation, and transit-development history rather than as an operating entertainment brand.
History
Pagoda Palace occupied a site on Columbus Avenue opposite Washington Square in San Francisco's North Beach district. The property had previously held the first Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, completed in 1888 and destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. Signora Antonietta Pisanelli opened a new theater on the site in either 1907 or 1909. Initially called the Washington Square Theater, it functioned as a vaudeville or Italian theater and could seat approximately 1,000 people for drama and opera. A 1909 benefit concert for Emilio Rivola is recorded among its early events, and political rallies for James “Sunny Jim” Rolph's 1911 mayoral campaign were also held there. The venue was converted into a movie theater in 1928. It passed through several names, including Milano Theater in the late 1920s and Palace Theater in 1938 or 1939, before becoming Pagoda Palace in 1967. Its Pagoda Palace period was especially associated with Chinese-language films. The building also became part of San Francisco's experimental performance culture when The Cockettes presented a midnight drag revue there from 1969 through 1971. In 1986, the Renaissance Rialto chain took over operations and the venue began showing repertory films under the shorter name The Palace. Regular operations ended in 1994. The vacant building attracted a succession of proposals, including a Rite Aid pharmacy, a combined cinema-café-bookstore, and a live-performance venue called Muriel's Theater. The Muriel's plan involved removing the front facade, but it failed after the collapse of the dot-com boom in 2000. Plywood then became the building's conspicuous public frontage. Joel Campos bought the property in 2004 and pursued multiple redevelopment concepts. The San Francisco City Planning Commission approved an eighteen-unit luxury condominium proposal with a ground-floor restaurant in 2009, but neighborhood resistance and continuing disputes delayed construction. By this period, the theater had lost much of its decorative interior and exterior material. The property became a local political symbol during the redevelopment debate. In 2008, Board of Supervisors candidate Lynn Jefferson used the plywood facade for the slogan “Enough with the plywood,” criticizing the prolonged stalemate. The sign referenced opposition to redevelopment associated with Telegraph Hill Dwellers and its then-leader Nancy Shanahan, who was married to Supervisor Aaron Peskin. The theater's final chapter was connected to the Central Subway project. In 2013, the Board of Supervisors established the Central Subway Tunnel Boring Machine Extraction Site Special Use District. Under a compromise with Campos, the city leased the property to remove the tunnel-boring machines Big Alma and Mom Chung. In exchange, planning exemptions allowed the proposed replacement development to maintain characteristics of the approved project, including its footprint and height, while avoiding some off-street parking and building-code requirements. The two-year lease was valued at $3.15 million. Supporters viewed the site as a way to avoid opening Columbus Street and as a possible step toward a future North Beach Muni Metro station. Critics objected to the construction method and raised concerns about effects on neighboring building foundations. The theater was demolished in August 2013, after around twenty years of vacancy. The National Trust for Historic Preservation later identified it as one of ten historic sites lost in 2013. The city lease ended on May 10, 2015. Plans for the replacement project were revised to nineteen condominium units, and construction of The Palace at Washington Square began in March 2016. The original theater no longer exists, but its history links immigrant cultural activity, popular cinema, Chinese-language exhibition, queer performance, neighborhood preservation politics, and San Francisco transit infrastructure.
- 2016
Replacement condominium construction begins
[1]Construction began on The Palace at Washington Square, a revised luxury condominium project.
- 2013
Site reclassified for Central Subway construction
[1]The property was reclassified as a special-use district for extraction of the Central Subway tunnel-boring machines.
- 2013
Building demolished
[1]The former theater was demolished in August.
- 2009
Condominium conversion approved
[1]The City Planning Commission approved a plan for an eighteen-unit luxury condominium complex with a ground-floor restaurant.
- 1994
Cinema operations end
[1]The theater discontinued operations and the building became vacant.
- 1986
Repertory programming under The Palace
[1]After Renaissance Rialto assumed operations, the theater began showing repertory films under the shortened name The Palace.
- 1969
The Cockettes begin performances
[1]The Cockettes began presenting a midnight drag revue at the venue, continuing through 1971.
- 1967
Pagoda Palace name adopted
[1]The building became known as Pagoda Palace and developed an association with Chinese-language film exhibition.
- 1928
Conversion to cinema
[1]The venue was converted from a theater presenting live entertainment into a movie theater.
- 1911
Rolph mayoral campaign rallies
[1]Several rallies supporting James “Sunny Jim” Rolph's mayoral campaign took place at the theater.
Products and positioning
A neighborhood entertainment venue whose identity shifted from vaudeville and Italian-oriented theater to cinema, Chinese-language film exhibition, repertory programming, and countercultural live performance.
Live entertainment · 1907
Vaudeville and live theater
The venue began as the Washington Square Theater, presenting vaudeville, drama, opera, and programming connected with San Francisco's Italian community. Its auditorium was reported to accommodate approximately 1,000 patrons.
Cinema · 1967
Chinese-language films
During its Pagoda Palace period, the theater specialized in Chinese-language film exhibition, giving the North Beach venue a distinct cultural and programming identity within San Francisco's diverse cinema landscape.
Live performance · 1969
The Cockettes midnight revue
The theater hosted The Cockettes' midnight drag revue from 1969 to 1971. These performances connected the venue with San Francisco's experimental, queer, and countercultural theater history.
Cinema · 1986
Repertory cinema
Beginning in 1986, the theater operated under the shorter name The Palace and presented repertory films after Renaissance Rialto assumed management.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008“Enough with the plywood” campaign sign
San Francisco, California
Board of Supervisors candidate Lynn Jefferson used the vacant theater's plywood facade as a campaign message criticizing the prolonged redevelopment dispute surrounding the property.
Outcome. The sign made the building a visible symbol of local political disagreement over development and neighborhood preservation.
Brand decisions
2013
Lease the property for Central Subway tunnel-boring machine extractionStrategyBackground
The vacant theater site was selected as an alternative location for retrieving the Central Subway tunnel-boring machines, avoiding excavation of Columbus Street.
Action taken
San Francisco entered a two-year lease arrangement with owner Joel Campos and reclassified the property as a special-use district for the extraction operation.
Aftermath
The machines Big Alma and Mom Chung were extracted from the site, and the theater was demolished later that year. The agreement also provided planning exemptions supporting replacement development.
Lease value. $3.15 million (Two-year lease agreement announced in 2013)
2013
Demolition of the former theaterOtherBackground
The building had been vacant since 1994, had lost much of its interior and exterior historic material, and was incorporated into the Central Subway construction plan.
Action taken
The former Pagoda Palace building was torn down in August 2013.
Aftermath
The property became a tunnel-boring machine extraction site and was later redeveloped for luxury condominiums. The National Trust for Historic Preservation identified the theater among ten historic sites lost in 2013.
Recent events
- 2016
Construction begins on The Palace at Washington Square[1]
Other
Following demolition and expiration of the city's lease, construction began on the approved luxury condominium redevelopment at the former theater site.
- 2013
City and owner reach agreement to use Pagoda Palace site for Central Subway tunnel-boring machine extraction[1]
Other
San Francisco reclassified the property for Central Subway construction, allowing the city to extract its tunnel-boring machines from the former theater site under a lease agreement with owner Joel Campos.
- 2013
Pagoda Palace theater demolished[1]
Other
The vacant former theater was demolished in August after about twenty years without regular operations. The property was used in connection with the Central Subway tunnel-boring machine extraction project.
Sources2 sources
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