Grauman's Imperial Theatre Photo Mural Installation

When San Francisco's Market Street Cinema (which opened in 1912 as Grauman's Imperial Theatre) was demolished in 2016 to make way for a highrise condominium tower, I was a part of the effort to salvage an enormous original stained glass window sign which had lain hidden behind later walls for the better part of a century.  Our goal was to see it restored and placed in the lobby of the new building.  Our efforts were successful, and, in addition to that, the developer included provisions for photo murals in the elevator lobbies on every floor.  Working with longtime friend, film and theatre historian Jack Tillmany, we selected images from his extensive photo archive, which would serve to remind residents and visitors that, not only had an early movie and vaudeville theatre once stood on the spot, but that Mid-Market Street had once been a thriving entertainment hub.  We chose images of the Imperial in its several incarnations over the years, plus images of other extant and vanished movie palaces nearby.  I composed captions for all the photos, to be mounted on the walls next to the images.  In this shot, I am pictured with Jack Tillmany, on the night the building was dedicated.  Stage 1075 Condominiums, 1075 Market Street, San Francisco.