Fetish porn palace the Armory to reopen as music venue

The New Bohemia New Year's Eve party at the Armory, above and left, in San Francisco in December 2013 featured circus acts, burlesque dancers and the Crystal Method electronic music duo. Plans are under way to convert the Armory into a 4,000-capacity music venue. less The New Bohemia New Year's Eve party at the Armory, above and left, in San Francisco in December 2013 featured circus acts, burlesque dancers and the Crystal Method electronic music duo. Plans are under way to ... more Photo: Mark Sandstorm Photo: Mark Sandstorm Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Fetish porn palace the Armory to reopen as music venue 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Armory, the mammoth brick building at Mission and 14th streets that once served as a National Guard facility and is now known as the fetish porn palace of the adult film company Kink.com, will open a full-time event venue later this year after a major renovation project is completed.

The upgrades inside the building’s Drill Court space are happening under the direction of Audrey Joseph, the former president of the San Francisco Entertainment Commission who helped establish popular San Francisco nightspots such as Mezzanine and Club Townsend.

“I think somebody has to stand fast and say the city can’t just be made up of condos,” Joseph said. “We have to support all the people who live here, not just with restaurants but with great entertainment places.”

The 40,000-square-foot Drill Court, previously known as the Armory Community Center, has played host to a variety of events over the years, including book fairs, Pride parties and the American Conservatory Theater production of “Black Watch.”

Plans are under way to convert it into a 4,000-capacity music venue, Joseph said.

“It’s large enough to accommodate a well-known touring band or DJ but intimate enough where everyone can see the stage,” she said. “There’s not a bad view from anywhere in the room.”

She is already in talks with national promoters LiveNation and Goldenvoice in the hopes of creating a space that rivals the Bill Graham Civic or the Masonic.

In July, the British electronic music act the Chemical Brothers successfully pulled off a trial run for live music at the Armory as headliners of the Hard SF festival.

Joseph said because it is near a BART station and several Muni lines and a freeway off-ramp, she does not expect traffic to be an issue. Concerts will end by midnight.

“We’re incredibly respectful of our neighbors,” she said. “How we process people into and out of the building has become an art.”

The Armory, built in 1912, served as a military induction and training center during the two world wars, and was briefly used as the city’s primary sports venue. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places but has been empty since 1976.

In 2006, it was purchased for $14.5 million by Peter Acworth to serve as the production facility for Kink.com, which will continue to occupy space in the building.

A growing list of state and local health regulations on adult films and websites, however, has driven many performers and film crews out of California, prompting the owner to seek out a wider range of uses for the building, including putting offices on the second and third floors.

Among the improvements being made inside the Drill Court are soundproofed walls and windows, new bathrooms and flooring and a coat check.

“There aren’t many spaces this large or beautiful left in San Francisco,” Joseph said. “It’s the kind of creative venue the city needs. There’s nothing else like it.”

Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF