Castro Theatre getting a second act at a pivotal time

Its place in LGBTQ+ history gives its reopening added meaning amid attacks on queer community

- Kevin Rector

At the start of the pandemic, when live entertainment was shut down across California, Gregg Perloff — chief executive of Another Planet Entertainment — told his team to use the downtime to find a new project that excited them.

They quickly set about identifying a versatile venue somewhere in San Francisco, and began driving around — socially distanced in half a dozen cars — to scout options. Then they came across the Castro Theatre, a once-grand movie palace that had slipped into disrepair despite being one of the most recognizable LGBTQ+ landmarks in the world, and learned the family that has owned it since it was built in 1922 was looking for a partner to help restore it.

"We knew — wow," said Mary Conde, a senior vice president with the Bay Area concert and events company. "This is so much more than a movie theater."

Within the LGBTQ+ community, the Castro is a symbol of liberation. In the 1960s and 1970s, Harvey Milk and other gay activists turned the Castro neighborhood into a safe haven for queer people nationwide, and the theater and its lighted red marquee and blade signage served as a giant X on the map for those flocking to find it.

Now, about five years and an estimated $41 million in renovations later, Another Planet is gearing up for a grand reopening of the 1,400-seat theater as a multipurpose concert, movie and community venue, starting Feb. 10 with a sold-out, 20-show residency by Grammy Award-winning queer singer Sam Smith.

"I LOVE San Francisco and The Castro especially has been so central to the Queer community here over the years," Smith wrote in September, calling it an honor to "become part of this iconic venue's history."