The Haight Theatre

1702 Haight St. | map |

Opened: Tuesday March 8, 1910 as Haight Street Theatre. It was two blocks east of Stanyan, on the northwest corner of Haight and Cole. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the 1914 photo. He comments that it's the only photo he's ever seen of how the theatre originally looked.

Seating: 800 seats originally. 1,500 after the 1916 remodel, 1,310 later.

Stage: The theatre had a full stage with fly capability. The proscenium was 34' wide. Stage depth was 19'.

Architects: The original architects were MacDonald & Applegarth. On their plans it's identified as the H and G Theatre. A 1916 renovation was by Mateo Matanovich. The 1936-37 moderne renovation was by Mark T. Jorgensen and Otto A. Deichmann. At the bottom of the page see 33 details from the 1909, 1916 and 1936-37 plans that are in the Gary Parks collection. 

 

A proscenium detail from the 1909 plans in the Gary Parks collection. See 11 additional images lower on the page.  

A December 9, 1912 ad for the theatre in the Chronicle. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding it. 

A July 22, 1916 item in Moving Picture World discussed the big remodel: "The Haight Street theater has been closed for extensive alterations and when the changes are complete will have a seating capacity of 1,500, instead of 800 as at present. A large balcony is to be added and the front of the house will be made more attractive by the addition of a handsome marquee." The issue is on Google Books.  

 

 

A drawing of the ornament near the proscenium from the Mateo Matanovich plans for the 1916 renovations. See seven additional images lower on the page that are taken from the set of those plans that's in the Gary Parks collection.  

 

 

A 1921 poster for the theatre at the Stanyan Park Hotel, Stanyan and Waller. It was revealed in 1982 during some renovations. It's a photo by Greg Gaar. Thanks to Art Siegel for spotting it in the Open SF History Project collection. 

 

A September 1922 calendar. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for spotting it on eBay. 

A 1924 Haight Theatre program from the San Francisco Public Library collection. It appeared with a 2015 Hoodline article about the theatre.

"The House of Perfect Sound Reproduction!" It's a December 1932 schedule from the collection of the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. I'm glad I missed "Congorilla." It's on Calisphere.

In 1936-37 it got a rebuild by Mark T. Jorgensen and Otto A. Deichmann. Work included a new moderne facade and an interior redo. 

 

 

A detail from the plans for the 1936-37 renovation showing the new decorative scheme near the proscenium.  At the bottom of the page see twelve additional images from the plans for that project that are in the Gary Parks collection.  

The cover of the program for the grand reopening on March 3, 1937. It's from the Jack Tillmany collection.

It closed as a film theatre in 1964 and became a rock venue called the Straight Theatre. Gary Parks comments:

"In the late 80s, I read a very interesting book--'The Haight Ashbury, A History.' In it, there was LOTS about the Haight/Straight. While renovating the place for live shows, the folks who were doing so used to take breaks for tripping purposes, and favored a lobby area which had a wall with lots of mirror panels on it, and at the time they wondered why there was so much mirror on the wall, while at the same time loving it for its trip visual potential. Sure enough, the 1930s plans for the remodel of the Haight that I have in my collection show a huge multi paned mirror, floor to ceiling, on one lobby wall. I'm sure architects Jorgensen and Deichmann had NO idea their mirror would come in so unconventionally handy, some 30 years later!"

A poster for the September 1967 event at the Straight called "Equinox of the Gods." Thanks to Jack Tillmany for spotting it online. Gary Parks comments: 

 

"Great graphics. The little cross between the two Udjats (Eyes of Horus) is the Rosicrucian symbol, the Rosy Cross—note the little rose in the center. The seated god is Ra Horakhte, meaning the Sun fused with the god Horus of the Horizon (akhte refers to horizon)."

Status: The theatre was demolished in 1979 with the major work completed in August. There's a Goodwill store now on the site.

 

 

The proscenium mural: 

 

A 1979 photo taken by Greg Gaar. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it in the collection of the Open SF History Project. 


More exterior views:  

 

A happy family on Haight St. in 1940. Thanks to Marcus for sharing the photo from his collection. He notes that the theatre is running "My Son, My Son!," a March 1940 release with Madeline Carroll along with "Alias the Deacon," a May release with Bob Burns, Mischa Auer and Peggy Moran. Jack Tillmany comments that perhaps the family was having a Labor Day weekend outing. This program ran Sunday September 1 through Tuesday September 3.  

 

 

 

The Bear Photo stamp from the back of the shot. Thanks, Marcus! 

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for this June 1941 photo from his collection. 

 

 

A September 13, 1942 view west taken by an unknown photographer that appears on the Open SF History Project website. The Haight was running Steinbeck's "Tortilla Flat" with Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield. Jack Tillmany comments: "The streetcar is not in regular service on the Haight Street line, but a Rail Fan Excursion on one of the interurban cars normally used on the #40 San Mateo line, bearing a #33 line dash sign. Non-rail fans might be confused by the presence of this unusual unit apparently running on Haight Street where it did not belong."

Thanks to Roger Rubin for this 1944 shot looking west toward the theatre, just beyond Cole St. Roger had it as a post on San Francisco Remembered. A version of the photo (with a strangely altered theatre facade) also appeared on Lost San Francisco, with many comments.

A photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments: "Haight Street, Saturday 3 July 1948, the last day of rail service on Haight Street's #7 line. Otherwise, business as usual, the calm long before the storm." The theatre is running "The Mating of Millie" and "The Roosevelt Story." 

It gets around. A version of the photo is also in the San Francisco Public Library collection. It's also on Calisphere, a contribution of the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. It can also be seen on a page for the Open San Francisco History Project. Another version, with many comments, appears on  the Facebook page Lost San Francisco. There's also another post of a bit sharper version on Lost SF. Roger Rubin also had it on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered.

The theatre seen in a 1948 Tom Gray photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. It's on the San Francisco Public Library website. Jack comments: "Street cars replaced by buses 1948."

It was on the Facebook page Lost San Francisco with this comment: "It was a premier neighborhood theater for many years. In the mid-1960s it closed and in 1964 there was an attempt to make it an art house theater catering to the gay community. There were very vocal protests and after a month, the theater closed because of local vandalism and police harassment. A couple of years later, the theater reopened as a rock concert venue and renamed the "Straight Theater." Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were all seen there. The theater went out of business completely after that and was boarded up. The building was finally demolished in 1981. A Goodwill Store stands in it's place today." 

The photo also appears with a 2015 Hoodline story about the history of the theatre. Thanks to Patrick Carroll for spotting the Hoodline article.

A 1948 photo that appeared on the Facebook page Lost San Francisco. Thanks to Matt Spero for working on the color. Jack Tillmany comments: "This was taken the last week of December; note the Christmas decorations. The program is 'Sorry Wrong Number' starring Barbara Stanwyck (one of today's classic Film Noir cult favorites) and 'For the Love of Mary' (Deanna Durbin's farewell to the silver screen)."

 

 

 

A 1954 view from Sharon Kollman. Thanks to William David French, Jr. for spotting the post on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. Metz Superior Donut Shop was just out of the frame to the left. TJ Fisher was the first to figure out that the main feature was "Garden of Evil," a CinemaScope epic with Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, and Richard Widmark. It was playing at the Haight in October. Kevin Walsh, through unknown powers of reasoning, got the 2nd feature: "Geraldine" with John Carroll and Mala Powers.

A March 1964 photo taken by Jack Tillmany.

A May 1964 photo by Alan J. Canterbury in the San Francisco Public Library collection.

A Jack Tillmany collection photo. He comments: "Moment of Transition: 8 August 1964. Neighborhood youth still wants Disney, not Drag. Anybody got a picture or story about these same "kids" a decade later?"

 

 

A c.1967 view. Thanks to Larry Blücher for sharing it on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page.

 

A 1967 view from Michael McClure's "The Maze: Haight Ashbury," documentary produced that year by KPIX. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for posting these five screenshots on the BAHT Facebook page. He notes that the theatre can be seen at 11:30 into the footage, which appears on the website of the Bay Area Television Archive. 

 

A look at the entrance. Image: KPIX - 1967 

 

 

A marquee detail. Image: KPIX - 1967 

 

 

A vertical detail. Image: KPIX - 1967 

 

 

A closer look at the entrance. Image: KPIX - 1967. Thanks, Bob!   

A June 4, 1967 Summer of Love photo with "Love" on the marquee from the SFMTA Photography Department & Archive. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding it in the collection. It was taken for a study of traffic congestion on the street.  

 

A 1967 photo from the San Francisco Public Library.

A look at the theatre in 1967 by Ursula Lehrburger/Rex USA. The photo appears in a January 2015 Buzz Feed post by Jessica Misener, "23 Spectacular Color Photos Of San Francisco In The 1960s - Bohemia and the Bay." 

 

 

A July 1967 photo by an unknown photographer appearing on the Open SF History Project website. 

 

 

 

A July 1967 photo taken by Clay Geerdes. Thanks to David Miller for posting it on San Franscisco Remembered and thanks also to Kevin Walsh for spotting it and sharing the post on the BAHT Facebook page.  

 

 

A July 1967 image by an unknown photographer appearing on the Open SF History Project website. 

 

 

The Grateful Dead doing a free show from a flatbed truck during the 1968 Haight Street Fair. Thanks to Jessica Litman for locating the photo for a post on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. 

A c.1968 photo by Herbert Frank. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding it on the Open SF History Project website where it appears courtesy of a private collector. 

A c.1968 photo by William Minnehan that appeared on the Facebook page Lost Marin. 

 

 

A 1972 shot from KRON. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for locating it for a post on the BAHT Facebook page.

An October 1973 Chronicle photo appearing with "The big screen, no not your TV: over 100 years of San Francisco Theaters," a March 2016 SF Gate photo portfolio. 

 

A  May 1974 look at the closed theatre by Mary Anne Kramer from the San Francisco Public Library collection. 

An undated photo by Fred Beall that's in the Jack Tillmany collection. 

A May 1979 view of the closed theatre taken by Greg Gaar. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing it. The photo can be seen on the San Francisco Public Library website. It was also used for a "then and now" post on  the Facebook page Lost San Francisco.
 

A 1979 demo view by Chris Carlsson appearing on a Found SF page about the theatre.

The facade going over in August 1979. It's a photo by Greg Gaar that's in the Jack Tillmany collection. Jack comments: "Greg perched one cold, foggy afternoon on a fire escape across the street, in order to capture this moment in time. I think it's truly a classic!"

 

 

Images from the original 1909 plans in the Gary Parks collection: 

 

 

A title block with the names of the architects nearly invisible. 

 

 

In the upper left it's an elevation in the ticket lobby looking toward the entrance doors. The upper right is the view toward the street from the boxoffice. On the bottom on the left it's an elevation in the ticket lobby looking toward the retail space on the left. The lower center is the street elevation. On the right it's a ticket lobby view to Cole St. 

 

 

A closer look at the facade elevation. Gary comments: "It’s interesting to see the notations that the 'braziers' (tripod/altar-like pedestal light fixtures) are to be outfitted with gas, not electricity." 

 

 

 

The ticket lobby elevation. 

 

 

A drawing of the elevation along Cole St. 

 

 

A detail of an area near the front of the building from the Cole St. elevation. Gary comments: "Kind of fun to see how the architects wanted to be CERTAIN that these features would be 'Galvanized Iron Gargoyles.'" 

 

 

 

Section views of the proscenium and the house left side of the building. Backstage note the headbeam, the grid, and the pinrail on the flyfloor.  

 

 

A proscenium detail showing the plaster ornament and lighting. 

 

 

A floorplan of the building. 

 

 

 

A detail from the plan showing the proscenium boxes and stairs and dressing rooms off stage left. 

 

 

A closer detail of the area near the loading door. Note the trap doors to get trunks to the basement dressing rooms. Gary comments: "Note here, that the building is named H & G Theatre."

 

 

 

A detail of part of the ticket lobby and rear of the auditorium. Gary comments: "Sadly—this set is missing a longitudinal section of the interior. However, one can get some idea of what was there from the remodel that was designed in the Teens. "


Details from the 1916 renovation drawings in the Gary Parks collection:

Gary comments: "The Haight St. went through an early redo, adding a balcony, and going through what appears to be a lighthanded redecoration. This is one of the few blueprints where I’ve seen the new stenciling drawn, essentially in all its complexity."

A longitudinal section through the rear of the auditorium looking at the new balcony. 

A detail of the new balcony structure and painted decoration.

A section through the front of the auditorium. 

A closer look at the stenciled detail near the proscenium. 

A section through the rear of the house. The men's room is over on the right.

A men's room detail. 

A back wall detail offering a closer look at the painted panel featuring reclining ladies.

The title block on sheet #5.

Details from the 1936-37 renovation plans in the Gary Parks collection:

 

A title block from one of the sheets.

A facade elevation.

A closer look at some of the cast concrete facade ornament.

At the upper center it's a plan of the roof. In the upper right is a fan room plan. At the bottom it's an elevation of the exterior wall house right. 

 A closer side view of the concrete tower of the facade.

A section through the entrance, lobby, and rear of the auditorium. Note the fan room on top of the booth.

A section through the front of the auditorium and the stage.

A detail of the side wall and proscenium plasterwork. A dotted line indicates removal of an earlier stage extension. There is no longer a need for the pit so steps are added across the front of the new stage. 

An elevation looking toward the stage and the steps up from the auditorium. The three channels below floor level are return air plenum ducts. 

At the top it's an elevation of the wall you'd see in the lobby looking in toward the auditorium.  At the bottom the view is in the lobby looking toward the exit doors and the stairs up to the balcony.  

A lobby wall detail.

A detail of a drinking fountain and stairs.

Details of the boxoffice.

Thanks, Gary!

More information: Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller. The Haight Theatre is discussed on page 107.

 See the Cinema Treasures page on the Haight. Hoodline had a 2015 story "From Haight Theatre to Goodwill..."

Found SF has a page on the theatre. The site TheStraight.com has some data on the shows at the theatre in the concert era. They also have an interior page with two murky views.

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