SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Kink.com announced last week that it has acquired the State Armory and Arsenal located at 1800 Mission Street in San Francisco. The company (formerly known as Cybernet Entertainment) reported that it acquired the Armory, which is a registered national landmark, at a cost of $14.5 million.“I have been excited about the Armory ever since I first toured it 18 months ago,” said Peter Acworth, CEO and founder of Kink.com, in a company press release. “It is a historic monument with amazing character and I believe it has wonderful potential as a movie production studio. The building has not been used in 30 years and I look forward to an exciting restoration project and helping revive San Francisco’s movie industry.”
Construction of the Armory was completed in 1914, and the building served as a National Guard facility until 1976. In 1978, the Armory was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it has been out of official for close to 30 years.
“Previous conversion plans throughout the years have been met with much community resistance for various reasons including gentrification and broader concerns relating to social and environmental impact,” Kink.com stated in the release, adding that Acworth plans to revive the building “in consideration of gentrification and social and environmental concerns while restoring and renovating the Armory to its original splendor, style, and beauty.”
Kink.com stated that it plans to pursue mainstream movie deals with companies that would like to take advantage of the building’s “period detail” which includes “cavernous dungeon-like basements, stone staircases, sweeping corridors, and a gigantic drill court spanning almost an acre.”
According to NBC11.com, the website for Bay Area NBC affiliate Channel 11, the reaction of nearby residents to the news of Kink.com purchasing the Armory was mixed.
“Me being a young lady and I have a daughter… we don’t need that,” said neighborhood resident Vaenisha Rodgers, according to NBC11.com. “Put a library here or something like that.”
Another resident saw the transfer of the Armory to owners from the erotica business as consistent with the overall character of the city, however.
“It’s kind of San Francisco,” said John Beckart, “taking guns and turning it into sex, kind of in the spirit of the city. We welcome it to some degree.”
Kink.com says that their effort to use the building as a movie location and production facility will create local jobs, and support the company’s “intent to benefit the neighborhood community.”
While Kink.com stated that it does intend to use the building for its own core business of producing adult movies for distribution on the Web, there is no reason why the surrounding community would ever witness that activity, as it would all take place behind the Armory’s ample walls.
The company also listed as a “long term” goal for the Armory to work with the city in order to “obtain an assembly permit for the drill court to be able to open parts of the building to the public for events and fundraisers.”
For more information, check out www.kink.com and www.sfarmory.com.
