Grand Theater, San Francisco

The Grand Theater on Mission Street is marked by a prominent vertical neon sign spelling out the word GRAND, which was restored in twenty twenty-three to shine above the neighborhood once again. Built in nineteen forty in the Streamline Moderne style, it stands as the last movie house constructed in San Francisco before the outbreak of World War Two. Architects G. Albert Lansburgh and S. Charles Lee designed the building for theater operator Ben Levin, who intended the space to serve budget-conscious families with a large, single-level auditorium.