Venue

The Roxie is one of the oldest continuously operating movie theaters in the US, with its history tracing back to the early 1900s.

The 300-seat theater was renovated in 1933, changed its name to the Roxie, and added its unusual marquee with neon sign but no place for movie titles. In 2003, a 49-seat theater dubbed the Little Roxie opened two doors from the main theater.

Other names for the theater:

• The Poppy 1912–1916
• The New 16th Street 1916–1920
• The Rex 1920–1926
• The Gem 1926–1930
• The Gaiety 1930–1933
• The Roxie 1933–present

In the late 1960s with the decline of its neighborhood, The Roxie became a pornography theater. In March 1976, community leaders Robert Christopher Evans, Dick Gaikowski, Peter Moore, and Tom Mayer bought the Roxie, remodeled it, and turned it into an art and independent film center. Between November 1–15, 1979, the Roxie hosted the U.S. premiere of Luis Buñuel’s L’Âge d’Or (1930), a film that had been banned for almost 50 years. Over the years, the Roxie has been home to many film festivals such as the Frameline Film Festival, the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the Arab Film Festival, SF Indiefest, and many others.