Hulking Eyesore at Mission and 21st Streets Finally Gets Plans to Be Rebuilt as Art Gallery, Retail Space

The three-story husk of a building at 2551 Mission Street has been vacant and accumulating graffiti now since 1987, but efforts to transform it into art galleries and retail spaces are finally showing some progress. There are many vacant eyesores on Mission Street, but probably none as notorious as what was once the Cine Latino building at 2551 Mission Street. You’d be forgiven for not knowing that it was once the Cine Latino movie theater, considering that theater closed way back in 1987, and this Mission Street building near 21st has been vacant ever since. For nearly ten years, the building has looked like what is seen below. 2551 Mission Street in 2018. Image: Joe Kukura, SFist There had been plans in recent years to turn the place into a 20,000 square-foot gym, but those plans were shot down when the permits were revoked in 2019 over unauthorized removal of the building’s old historic facade. (The building’s owners won a $200,000 settlement over that decision.) And so the long limbo continued several more years, but now Mission Local reports that permit applications have been submitted to make the building art galleries, art studios, and retail space. And maybe even an...