Work to repair Ingleside's iconic Art Deco movie palace started in earnest this week with the installation of scaffolding around the building's tower.
The former El Rey theater sustained damage during the bouts of inclement weather earlier this year. Chunks of plaster fell off the tower's sides on to the marquee and sidewalk.
Chunks of plaster fell from the former El Rey theater's tower during the record-breaking stormy weather. | File Photo/Ingleside Light
The Department of Building Inspection issued a notice to the property owners. In turn, the property owners worked with city inspectors and a structural engineer to determine next steps.
A permit to make repairs to the 1931-built theater was issued on Jan. 30 at a cost of $8,000, city records show.
"We're taking it seriously and fixing it," Urbano Ezquerro, one of the building's owners, told The Ingleside Light in January.
Ezquerro and company could not be reached by press time.
Designed by San Francisco's Art Deco master architect Timothy Pflueger, the historic landmark has been dormant since it was sold at auction on the Van Ness Avenue steps of City Hall in 2016.
Scaffolding erected on the former El Rey theater on Tuesday. | File Photo/Ingleside Light
While the present repairs may handle the outside, the rest of the building needs considerable work.
Ezquerro and his partners submitted a proposal to renovate the theater complex and build 42 condominiums on the twin parking lots and atop its commercial wings. The units would range from two three bedrooms, 12 two bedrooms and 28 one bedrooms along with a 32-unit basement parking garage.
The owners are finalizing plans with AT&T to place cellular antennas on the tower in such a way that they do not impact the historic nature.
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