San Francisco Points of Interest
The Presidio Theater was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the Spanish colonial architectural style.
The theatre was an entertainment hub for the military and their families for nearly six decades, screening movies and hosting live events and radio broadcasts. Notable performers included Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Marlene Dietrich, Loretta Young, and Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain.
The theater showed its last movie in 1994 when the Army left the Presidio and turned over the land to the National Park Service. The building was vacant for over twenty years, one of the last on the Main Post to be rehabilitated.
After being renovated and enlarged, the Presidio Theatre reopened in September of 2019.
The Presidio Theatre contributes to the San Francisco Presidio Historic District.