A beloved Bay Area holiday tradition won't continue this year

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The 97-year-old Stanford Theater in Palo Alto triumphantly returned in July after a two-year closure, but announced it would shut down again for ongoing renovations and not reopen until early 2023. Did.

That means the annual “It’s a Wonderful Life” Christmas Eve screening—a long-standing Bay Area holiday tradition that regularly sells out—no longer goes as planned. For audiences, it would have been the first chance in three years to see the film at the prestigious venue.

“Unfortunately we have been informed that we will not be performing It’s a Wonderful Life this year,” read a statement the theater shared on Facebook. We would like to install a new heating system in the (as well as other structural improvements to the theater), and we are very sorry that we cannot bring you the happy news.”

SFGATE attempted to contact theater management for further details, but did not hear back by the time of release.

Hundreds lined up when the famed Stanford Theater in Palo Alto reopened in July. This photo of the historic cinema was taken in 2019.
Ariel J./Yelp

The news comes as part of a collaboration between Turner Classic Movies, Paramount Pictures and Fathom Events to mark the 75th anniversary of Frank Capra’s film, which will be re-released exclusively in more than 1,000 theaters nationwide. Starting Sunday, it will be showing at Century and his AMC theaters in San Francisco, Daly City, Walnut Creek, Redwood City and Pleasant Hill.

But for many, it’s not the same as seeing it at the Stanford Theatre.

The historic cinema is hailed as an inflation-defying gem, with $7 movie tickets and $2.50 popcorn for adults. It is also one of the few movie theaters left in the area that maintains the classic movie-going experience, with all his films shown on 35mm and with live organ music playing before each showing. listen to

When it reopened in July after a seismic renovation and upgrade to a new ventilation system, hundreds of people watched Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ classic musical comedies “Top Hat” and “The Gay Divorce.” ”

For more information and updates, visit the Stanford Theater website.

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