SeattleChange
1300 North Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA
The venue opened in 1909 as the "Scottish Rite Temple", built by the Scottish Rite as a masonic lodge. In 1966, the lodge was purchased by Blumenfeld Enterprises and converted into an 800-seat movie theater. The theater opened as "Regency I" on December 22, 1967, with a showing of The Birds, the Bees and the Italians. The neighboring building, known as "Regency II" was formerly the Avalon Ballroom. Blumenfeld Enterprises converted this space into an adjoining movie theatre in 1968 and remained opened until 2001. In 1980, the building was also used by the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation as a banquet hall and dance studio until 1999 (known as the "Ruvano Dance Studio").