Another locally-owned, neighborhood theater bites the dust today. The Haight-Ashbury's beloved Red Vic is set to close its doors for good after tonight's final screening of the endearingly morbid Hal Ashby classic, Harold and Maude. Naturally, both shows are sold out.
The film, which was one of the theater's most popular, features lots of iconic Bay Area settings, including the Sutro Baths, the Marin Headlands, and the Emeryville mudflats. Oddly enough, tonight's screenings will also serve as a birthday celebration marking Red Vic's 31st year.
The above photo, which the talented Julie Michelle shot last year, perfectly sums up the essence of the Red Vic and the community surrounding it (for better or worse).
Goodbye, Red Vic, we won't forget you!
Additionally, the fate of yet another small locally-owned, neighborhood theater also hangs in the balance, as Balboa Theater's operator, Gary Meyer, announced last week that he's leaving the Richmond District venue to focus on his duties as co-director of the Telluride Film Festival.
Take a stroll down memory lane with this great collection on Flickr honoring all the bygone San Francisco theaters (via Fecal Face).