SAN FRANCISCO — The end could be near for the fabled Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco’s Tenderloin.
The 12,920-square-foot building that houses the adult entertainment venue is up for sale.
Considered the most famous strip club in San Francisco, the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell opened up for business in 1969 by pornographer brothers Jim and Artie Mitchell.
The Mitchell brothers produced and directed porn movies such as “Behind the Green Door” and became better known than many of the adult entertainers who may have worked at their O’Farrell Theatre. Both of them are long gone.
Susan Jordan, the San Francisco real estate broker who has the listing, said one reason current theater operators are interested in unloading the property is that it’s tough to cover the building’s $37,000 monthly rent.
The asking price for the theater, located at 895 O’Farrell St., is $10 million to buy or $39,000 a month to rent, according to Jordan, an agent with Starboard Commercial Real Estate.
While Jordan tries to find a buyer for the property, business still goes on at the theater — full nude shows, lap dances and five themed rooms. Admission is $20, with additional a la carte offerings.
Jim and Artie Mitchell’s adult business began in Antioch, Calif., where Jim graduated from the high school in 1962.
The brothers sold nude photos to magazines in San Francisco during the late '60s, opened the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater and started making porn loops.
Jim and Artie Mitchell reached cult status in 1972 with "Behind the Green Door," starring Ivory Snow model Marilyn Chambers, followed by "Resurrection of Eve" in 1973, and several other full-length films notable for high production values, wit and social commentary during the 1970s Golden Age.
The Mitchell brothers produced hundreds of adult films, and they faced and beat more than 100 arrests on obscenity charges, which they never avoided. San Francisco police would call them and they would come in to get booked.
In 1991, Jim Mitchell shot and killed his brother, Artie, at his home in the Bay Area. Jim Mitchell's lawyers claimed Artie, 45 at the time, was in an alcoholic tailspin and threatened to kill Jim.
When Jim Mitchell entered Artie's home, he was armed with a rifle, a handgun, a knife and a box of ammunition. He fired eight shots, three of them hitting his brother, one fatal shot in the head. When police arrested him as he walked from the home, he had a .22-caliber rifle in his pants leg and a revolver in a shoulder holster.
Jim Mitchell was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served three years in San Quentin. He was released in 1997 and became no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the Mitchell Brothers business. He died in 2007 at 63.
