New permits have been filed for the residential conversion of the mixed-use structure at 312 Connecticut Street in Potrero Hill, San Francisco. The historic three-story brick building is currently occupied by a small apartment and religious space for the Gurdjieff Society. San Francisco-based architect Ralf Dieter Huck is listed as the property owner.
312 Connecticut Street vertical cross-section, illustration by Ralf Dieter Huck
312 Connecticut Street front view, rendering by Ralf Dieter Huck
The project plans will retain most of the building’s external appearance, except for plans to demolish the four non-load-bearing columns facing Connecticut Street. According to the application, those columns were installed in the 1990s to symbolize part of the Gurdjieff Scoeity’s self-help philosophy. The application proposes “a change of use from church to residential.” The interior will be renovated to include three bedrooms, a rooftop terrace, an art workshop, and basement storage.
The Gurdjieff Society is an international association inspired by the writing of a charismatic spiritualist and philosopher, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. The group is shrouded in secrecy alongside accusations of cult-like characteristics.
312 Connecticut Street, image via Google Street View
The complex was built in the early 1910s, initially as a silent movie theater named the Alta Theater. The facility was upgraded to include sound by 1929 and would operate as New Potrero Theater until closing in 1963. The building was purchased by the Gurdjieff Society in 1993, with a later sale to Velocity Realty in 2013 that kept the society on-site. City records show the property last sold in 2023 for $3.1 million.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
Trying to replicate the brick facade is the wrong approach a lighter more transparent facade addition would be more appropriate
We went to that movie theater almost every Saturday.
Cool! I’m by here all the time and always wondered what the heck that “society” is, I never see anyone going in or out of there. Nice to see it hopefully be used for housing.
The four non-load bearing columns give the facade a pleasant temple-like appearance. The glass curtain wall replacement is pretty generic art gallery-ish for a residential block.