Part of the 2008 Theatre Historical Society of America annual Conclave and theatre tours. This year the San Francisco Bay Area of California was featured, with tours of over 30 historic theatres in 4 days. Built in 1920, the Golden Gate was a movie theater for over 50 years until it closed in the 1970's. By the time it was shuttered, the Golden Gate had already been converted into a two screen theater in the 1960's, but suffered little permanent damage as it was restored to a single auditorium by the Shorenstein Hayes Nederlander group. When it was finally renovated and reopened in 1979 into a performing arts center, the original detail and look of the theater was restored as well. Today, the Golden Gate is still a premier venue for travelling broadway shows and a visual journey into San Francisco's gilded past. THSA is a non-profit organization open to all fans of historic theatres. Information and membership details can be found at www.historictheatres.org