Author: Alfredo Casuso

SF Chamber City Beat Media Advisory 

Media Contact:

David Perry
Board of Directors / Executive Committee: 
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

news@acasusodavidperry-com
(415) 676-7007

MEDIA ADVISORY

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to Release New Poll Data on San Francisco’s Economic Outlook, Voter Sentiment, and Overall Recovery at the annual CityBeat Breakfast

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce will release the results of its 38th Annual CityBeat Poll at the 2026 CityBeat Breakfast: Next is Now, the Chamber’s annual briefing on San Francisco’s economic outlook, business climate, and civic priorities.

CityBeat 2026 focuses on how San Francisco is positioning itself for the next phase of growth. The CityBeat Poll, conducted by EMC research and presented by United Airlines, provides new data on voter sentiment. This year’s program will  feature remarks from Mayor Daniel Lurie,  San Francisco Chamber of Commerce CEO Rodney Fong, and Ghazi, the Founder and CEO of EMPIRE. 

CityBeat Breakfast Speakers Include:

• Mayor Daniel Lurie, 46th Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco
• Rodney Fong, President and CEO, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
• Baie Netzer,  Managing Director and Economist, Bank of America Private Bank
• Ghazi, Founder and CEO, EMPIRE

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce CityBeat Breakfast: Next is Now

Event DetailsWednesday, February 11, 2026

8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Registration & Check-In / Reception w/ VIP Lounge

9:30 AM to 11:00 AM Program
Pier 27, San Francisco

Notes for Interested Media

Media is invited to attend and film CityBeat live. A designated media area will be available with space for cameras, risers, and power. Audio mult-box access will be provided. Speakers will be available for interviews before and after the program. Interested media should rsvp to  news@davidperry.com or call/text (415) 676-7007

ALL MEDIA MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE. PRESS MUST PRESENT AN SFPD OR OTHER OFFICIAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESS PASS. 

The Two Faces of the Castro Stage: Castro’s Guardians of Emotion Since 1922

If you’ve ever looked closely at the stage of San Francisco’s landmark Castro Theatre, you may have noticed two striking painted roundels flanking the proscenium—quiet, luminous figures who seem to watch over every performance. Installed when the Castro opened in 1922, these images are far more than decorative flourishes. They are allegories—visual poetry expressing the very purpose of theatre.

Together, they represent the emotional duality at the heart of live performance.

Two figures, one idea:

At first glance, the paintings appear similar: idealized female figures framed within circular medallions, rendered in warm tones with flowing hair and classical serenity. Look again, though, and their differences emerge.

One figure gazes outward, eyes open, head turned slightly to the side. She appears alert, receptive, ready. The other bows her head gently, eyes closed, absorbed in thought or feeling. One is outward-facing; the other is inward-looking.

They are best understood as complementary muses of drama—embodying the twin emotional states that theatre invites us to inhabit:

• Anticipation and engagement: the alert presence of comedy, vitality, and immediacy

• Reflection and depth: the inward gaze of tragedy, memory, and emotional resonance

Rather than literal theatrical masks, these figures portray states of mind—how performance is both offered to the world and received within the self.

A movie palace as a modern temple:

When the Castro Theatre was built, it was conceived as a movie palace: a civic monument to storytelling at a time when cinema was emerging as a transformative art form. Architects and designers of the era frequently used classical symbolism to elevate popular entertainment, borrowing visual language from Renaissance medallions, Byzantine halos, and Beaux-Arts ornamentation.

The circular frames surrounding these figures give them a near-sacred quality, suggesting that what happens on this stage is worthy of contemplation, reverence, and emotional investment. Cinema and live performance were not meant to distract—they were meant to move.

Emotion over narrative:

Notably, neither figure holds a prop. There are no masks, no instruments, no overt symbols. This was a deliberate choice, and a modern one. The emphasis is not on story or character, but on feeling. These muses don’t tell us what kind of performance we’re about to see—they remind us why we came in the first place.

Every laugh, every tear, every hush in the audience is contained between them.

Silent witnesses:

For more than a century, these figures have watched generations gather beneath them—for films, concerts, community moments, activism, celebration, and remembrance. They are the quiet constants in a space defined by change.

One looks outward, toward the stage and the world beyond.

The other looks inward, toward the heart.

Together, they remind us that theatre is a shared act: what is performed and what is felt. And that every time the lights dim at the Castro, we step—willingly—into both.

Castro Theatre FAQs

• For every dollar spent on tickets, $ 12 in revenue is generated for local bars, restaurants and shops. This is according to the 2019 “Arts in the Loop” impact study. https://loopchicago.com/assets/f4fdbc1e00/Arts-in-the-Loop-Study.pdf

• Architect / Designer: Timothy L. Pflueger 
• Building Builder & Owner: Bay Properties / The Nasser Family
• Date theatre opened: The historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco opened at 429 Castro St. on June 22, 1922, featuring an invitation-only screening of Across the Continentwith Mayor James Rolph in attendance. Designed by architect Timothy L. Pflueger for the Nasser brothers, this Spanish Baroque-style venue opened to the public the following day. 
• The murals flanking the audience are “sgraffito”: a decorative technique involving scratching through a surface layer of slip, glaze, or plaster (in this instance clay) to expose a contrasting color underneath, derived from the Italian sgraffiare (“to scratch”).
• Current Castro Management, Programming & Operations: Another Planet Entertainment who have an exclusive longterm lease.
• Date Another Planet took over management in January 2022.
• Last pre-renovation performance: “Victor / Victoria” February 4, 2024
• Ribbon Cutting post renovation: February 6, 2026
• First public event: “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” benefit screening for nonprofit Castro Community Benefit District February 6, 2026
• First musical artist: Sam Smith, 20 performance residency February 10 – March 14, 2026
• March 17, 2026 new Castro organ debuts: the largest digital theatre organ in the world, designed to the specifications of longtime Castro organist David Hegarty.
• Venue capacity: 1385 / 1150 seated 
• Number of onsite staff: 20 – 30 depending upon event type
• Fresh popcorn will be popped onsite
• Two concessions will provide lite snacks (peanuts, candies, etc) and alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.
• The theatre orchestra level. stage & backstage are fully ADA accessible.
• Due to historic preservation requirements, the balcony level is only accessible by stairs.
• Venue will host events of all types including concerts, podcasts, comedy, special events, private functions and its traditional schedule of films including Frameline, the International LGBTQ Film Festival, SF Film Festival, Berlin & Beyond, Silent Film Festival, movie sing-a-alongs, and neighborhood and LGBTQ community events.
• www.TheCastro.com

Film & AV:

Film:

Digital Projector:

NEC NC2043ML 4k Phosphor Laser Projector

Film Projectors:

• 2 Century JJ projectors, capable of both 35mm and 70mm projection.
• Screen: 25’ x 36’ Strongview Vista Motorized Projection Screen
• Audio: Dolby 7.1 surround sound system

Restoration Details.

• Renovation Cost: $ 41 million paid by Another Planet
• Number of contractors who worked on the project: 400 +
• Restoration timeline: February 5, 2024 – February 6, 2026

Restoration Team:

• CAW Architects in collaboration w. preservation architects Page & Turnbull
• Alarcon Bohm  (General Contractor) 
• Evergreene Architectural Arts 
• The Shalleck Collaborative 
• MAR Structural Design
• Charles Salter Acousticians
• Meyers +
• Lightswitch
• Phoenix Day (original builders of, and restorers of, the iconic 1937 chandelier)
• Michelle Franzoia Interiors
• Neon Works
• BuildIT (world’s largest LGBTQ Industry Association) sub. Contractors: Axis Mechanical Inc., Anco Iron & Construction Inc.  and Laner Electric Supply.

Countdown to Castro Ribbon Cutting

Ahoy! Movin’ on up to opening day! Count down ‘til this Friday’s ribbon cutting with Mayor Daniel Lurie, SF Board of Supes President Rafael Mandelman, State Senator Scott Wiener for the Castro Theatre following its $ 41 million renovation, restoration and revitalization by the Bay Area’s Another Planet Entertainment! 

First public event: a screening of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” benefitting the nonprofit Castro Community Benefit District!
www.TheCastro.com