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Opened: October 15, 1932. The War Memorial Opera House is one of two buildings that make up the War Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. To the north is the Veterans Building containing the Herbst Theatre and the Wilsey Center for Opera. Between the two is the Memorial Court. The Opera House is on the left in this postcard that appeared in a post of 42 views on the California Heritage Facebook page.
Architects: G. Albert Lansburgh and Arthur Brown Jr.
Seating: 3,126 plus 200 standing room
Websites: sfwarmemorial.org/war-memorial-opera-house | sfopera.com/about-us/war-memorial-opera-house/
In 1945 the Opera House was the site of the signing of the U.N. charter.
The Opera House in the movies: We get a walk through the lobby in Don Siegel's 1958 Columbia Pictures film "
The Lineup." It stars Eli Wallach, Brian Keith, Richard Jaeckel and Mary LaRoche. We also see the exterior of the
Nob Hill Theatre on California St. as Jaeckel, in his souped-up
1957 Plymouth Belvedere, takes a "mean left turn" down the Mason
St. precipice. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the data.
We get quite a romp through the Opera House in "Foul Play" (Paramount, 1978). The crime comedy, directed by Colin Higgins, stars Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase,
Burgess Meredith, Brian Dennehy, Dudley Moore, Billy Barty and Rachel
Roberts. Here we're looking toward the Pope in the center box. It's all
about an assassination attempt by a bishop who's really an anarchist. We also get some lobby shots done at City Hall and
various corridor views that could have been shot anywhere. Backstage shots are a mix of soundstage work and many views of L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium. They also pretend that the Nuart Theatre in L.A. is a San Francisco Theatre. See the L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more theatre shots from the film.
Lobby views:
Unidentified dancers in the main lobby. It's a photo that appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
Working on restoration of the lobby ceiling in 1997. Thanks to Jim Baldocchi for posting the photo on the
BAHT Facebook page. Beate Brühl comments that she worked on the project for the restoration firm John Canning Co. and that the artist in the photo appears to be Jackie Canning-Riccio, daughter of the company's owner.
A view taken by Tim Robertson in the fall of 2020 when the building was doing some renovations during the Covid shutdown. It's one of four photos Tim shared in a post on the
San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. The items on the floor appear to be the mushrooms from underneath the seats.
A photo by Andrew Millinship, one of eight views of the building in a 2023 post on the Facebook page Theatre Architecture.
The auditorium:
A look up to the balconies by an unknown photographer. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the photo.
A 30s view down into the boxes appearing on the
Open SF History Project website. Note the projection booth tucked into the back.
A fine look across the house by an unknown photographer. It's a photo that was located by Jack Tillmany.
A look down from the top as the U.N. Conference begins in 1945. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
Signing of the U.N. charter in 1945. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
Cleaning up after the 1997 fire in the boxes. Thanks to Jim Baldocci for sharing his photo on the BAHT Facebook page.
A lovely look down the center aisle. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A panoramic grand tier view that appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A view of the theatre's asbestos taken in the fall of 2020 when the building was
doing some renovations during the Covid shutdown. Thanks to Tim Robertson for sharing four
photos he took in a post on the
San Francisco Remembered Facebook page.
A look back from the front of the grand tier that appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A
view from the first balcony. It's a photo by Robert Canfield that appeared as a post by
Graeme McBain on the Facebook page
Theatre Architecture.
The chandelier and proscenium as seen from the second balcony. Photo: Andrew Millinship -
Theatre Architecture - 2023
The view down from the chandelier. You climb down into it for relamping. Thanks to Greg Wilson for sharing this photo he took.
A look to the rear of the house by Robert Canfield. Thanks to Graeme McBain for posting it on the Facebook page
Theatre Architecture.
Another view to the
rear. Thanks to Mark Demmin
II for the photo, a post on the Facebook page
Theatre Architecture.
Seats out during the 2020 renovations. Photo: Tim Robertson
A chandelier view. Photo: Tim Robertson
Another chandelier shot. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this 1967 photo.
Backstage:
A view from onstage that appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A lovely shot from upstage center. Thanks to Paul Puppo for the photo.
In the attic:
A June 2021 shot from Greg Wilson. He comments: "It’s a beautiful building. I’ve been working there this week, getting it ready to open back up. We’re replacing approximately 3,000 light bulbs! Here’s a shot of the octagons above the balcony, they have large reflectors that need to lifted out of the way to access the lights. You can see them in the picture hanging above the lights."
More exterior views:
A 1932 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
A c.1932 card from the Jack Tillmany collection with the Opera House down the street. In the foreground it's the Veterans Building, home of the Herbst Theatre.
A 1935 photo that appeared, uncredited, in a post of 42 views on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A c.1939 postcard from the Jack Tillmany collection.
The buildings in 1945. It's an Associated Press photo that appeared in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page. It originally went out with this copy:
"San Francisco, April 21 -- Twin Buildings To House Conference -- This
was the scene today as final preparations were being made in San
Francisco's War Memorial, the Veterans Building (foreground) and the
Opera House (background), for the opening of the United Nations Security
conference next Wednesday. Trucks in front of Veterans Building are
unloading furniture for use of delegates and press."
A 1945 Peace Conference photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
An April 1945 view taken during the peace conference. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the photo from his collection.
A 1945 view to the west. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A c.1980 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
A facade detail. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A view looking southwest with the Opera House on the left. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post of 42 views on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
The north side of the building. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A loading door in the bustle upstage. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A door detail. There's another loading door in the back wall. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
The Opera House is on the left, the Veterans Building on the right. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post of 42 views on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
In the Memorial Court looking east toward City Hall. The Opera House is on the right. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post of 42 views on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
A City Hall vista from up a bit higher. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
Another view toward City Hall. The photo appeared, uncredited, in a post on the
California Heritage Facebook page.
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.
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