1 week Ago By Amanda Hari
The Roxie Theater is working to cement their position San Francisco's Mission District by purchasing the building they've been in for more than 100 years.It's one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the country. For Matt Sigl, it's become home.
"It means everything to me," Sigl told CBS News Bay Area.Sigl moved to San Francisco almost five years ago, and quickly discovered the theater."Walked down the street, I didn't even know I was in The Mission at the time, I looked in the window and I saw that they had a poster for 'Eraserhead.
' I said, that's the movie theater I'm going to be going to," said Sigl, remembering the first time he encountered the theater.He did go to the theatre, he saw a movie and applied for a job his first time visiting."It's a labor of love for me.
These are the kind of movies I love, these are the kind of people I like to interact with and engage with," Sigl said, thinking about his experiences there over the last few years.He's now a manger.The marquee outside the Roxie Theater in San Francisco's Mission District.
CBS Last week, Roxie staff announced they have been working on a $7 million capital campaign called "Forever Roxie" to buy their building outright.Sigl believes as long as they are renting, their future will always be uncertain, and they want to become a permanent fixture in The Mission."We're still at the mercy, in theory, of the landlords and the real estate market or whatever," said Sigl.
"If we own the space, it's ours, and we can secure the Roxie for generations to come."Zappa Johns was seeing "Freaky Tales" at the Roxie on Sunday night. He's being seeing movies at the theater for years.
He says he's hopeful that the purchase will happen."Giving the Roxie a little bit more control over their own space, I think, is a fantastic idea," said Sigl. "Having a real movie house like this, especially as part of the neighborhood, is a fantastic part of San Francisco's cinema legacy.
"Theater staff already privately raised about $5.5 million. With less than $1.
5 million left to raise, they're asking the public for donations.Sigl said with so many movies being released online, it makes place like this more valuable."It's a special experience that I think people seek out now in an active way, as an almost affectionate relationship to movies that you just don't get in your home cinema," said Sigl.
With the Forever Roxie campaign they plan to do some upgrades, such as replacing projectors, screens and sound systems. But they plan to do it in a way that will stay true to the historic location.Sigl says he doesn't want to ever have to imagine The Mission without this place.
"It's a gem, it's a landmark. We've been here 110 years so it's just the physical embodiment of this place has been here since The Mission grew and developed into what we know it is today," said Sigl.The Roxie already has an agreement with the owners of the building to purchase it, so raising this money is the final step to secure the location.
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