2101 Sutter St. | map |
Opened: March 18, 1907 as the New Alcazar, a replacement for the Alcazar Theatre on O'Farrell St. lost to the earthquake and fire. This 1907 construction view from the scrapbooks of Henry Hamilton Dobbin is in the California State Library collection, their item #01380810.
Note several guys working on the swing-out sign. The vertical has yet to go up -- it's along the side
of the building -- except for the "A" section which is out in front. Mr.
Dobbin noted that it was a damp morning.
The location was the southwest corner of Sutter and Steiner, backing up to the Dreamland Rink, a location where Winterland would later be. That big hulking building to the right is still there. It was
built as the Bay Area Commandery of the Knights Templar.
Both the pre-fire theatre and new house were operated by Frederick Belasco, a brother of the more famous New York producer David. His partner was Morris E. Mayer. Frederick and his partners would later operate the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, a venue later called the Follies. George H. Davis was listed as the manager 1907-08 edition of Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide. It's on Google Books..
The stage: The specs are in the 1907-08 edition of Henry's Guide. The house had both gas and
electric illumination. The proscenium was 34' wide x 30' high. The stage
had a depth of 35 feet. Grid height was 65 feet. The stage wall to wall dimension was 80
feet.
Seating: 1,474 was a pre-construction number noted by the architects. It had 1,703 when it opened. Henry's Guide for 1907-08 lists it at 1,500. As the Uptown it was listed in a Film Daily Yearbook as having 1,425 seats.
"Absolutely
"Class A' Structure" The main floor seating chart for the theatre c.1908. Thanks
to Kevin Walsh for the find in a 1908 guidebook to the city. This and other seating charts were a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
Architects: The original building was designed by Charles F. Archer and Harley G. Corwin of the firm Archer & Corwin. Fabre & Hildebrand did a 1930 atmospheric remodel. Gary Parks reports that Alexander Cantin designed a light-handed remodel in 1936 that was not executed. He also designed a total moderne remodel in 1937 that was executed.
History: The project was announced three months after the earthquake and fire. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this article in the July 18, 1906 S.F. Call via the California Digital Newspaper Collection:
"Plan New Alcazar After Modern Theaters - Sutter and Steiner Streets Will Be the Location - The new Alcazar Theater to be erected by Messrs. Belasco and Mayer on the southwest corner of Sutter and Stelner streets will cost $150,000 when completed. This theater will be one of the prettiest and safest in the United States. The comfort and safety of theater-goers have been the principal objects of its builders. The seating capacity will be 1500. The theater is on two streets, and there will be ample exits. On Steiner street will be five exits.
"To the right of the main entrance on Sutter street a court 8 feet wide will extend from the stage to Sutter street. Three fire escapes from the balcony will lead into this wide court, and three more will lead into Steiner street. The building will be erected so as to comply with the new building ordinance in every particular, the exits being 25 per cent in excess of the width required by law. The structure will be class A and fireproof. It is being erected under the personal supervision of Messrs. Archer and Corwin, architects for the new theater.
"STEEL SUPPORTS FOR WALLS. Brick walls will be supported entirely upon steel columns and girders. The brick work will be thoroughly anchored to the steel, and the steel itself will be braced with diagonal bracing, after the fashion of a viaduct. The auditorium will be 88 feet wide, and is spanned by four immense steel trusses 18 feet high. The exterior is designed in old Spanish style. The front of the building will be flanked by two ornate towers. The towers and roof will be covered in old Mission style. The entrance to the auditorium will be through a wide and commodious lobby, which will be beautifully finished in hardwood, ornamental tiles and marble. The auditorium will be finished in maroon, green, gold and ivory, and the ornamentation will be of Moorish design.
"The stage will be extra large and permit the producing of attractions of the 'Ben Hur' order. The proscenium arch will be 34 feet wide. An asbestos curtain will be used, and the lighting of the theater will be one of its features. The orchestra will be placed below the auditorium floor level and partly under the stage. FINE LEATHER SEATS. Messrs. Belasco and Mayer have already ordered 1500 leather chairs, that will surpass anything of their kind for comfort in this city. It is expected the theater will be completed in the latter part of October. Work is being rushed with this object in view. The ground has been graded and foundations laid, and within a week the steel structure will begin to rise. White Whittlesey will open the new playhouse with a new costume play. He will be supported by many of the old Alcazar favorites."
"PROSPECTIVE NEW ALCAZAR BUILDING FOR SUTTER AND STEINER STREETS THAT IS TO BE BUILT AT A COST OF $150,000 FOR BELASCO AND MAYER. THE STRUCTURE WHEN COMPLETED WILL BE ONE OF THE FINEST THEATER BUILDINGS IN THE STATE." -- S.F. Call, July 18, 1906
The theatre was described in even more detail in "A Fire-Proof Theatre for the New San Francisco," an August 1906 article by Charles F. Archer, C.E., that was located by Art Siegel. It appeared on pages 19 to 25 of the August 1906 issue of The Architect and Engineer of California:
"Designing a theatre building for the new and greater San Francisco, under and in accordance with the new building ordinance is a task requiring infinite attention to detail. The demands of the man behind the scenes, of the fire marshal, of the building inspectors, and of the theatre-going public, must be satisfied and must be made to harmonize with those of the man in the box office. The accompanying illustrations show an attempt to solve this problem.
"This building is being erected for Messrs. Belasco and Mayer, the former proprietors of the Alcazar and Central Theatres, of San Francisco, and owners of the Belasco Theatre, of Los Angeles. It has been designed and is being built by Archer & Corwin, architectural engineers. The building is situated on the southwest corner of Sutter and Steiner streets, 96 feet 3 inches on Sutter street and 137 feet 6 inches on Steiner street. The building covers the entire lot with the exception of an eight-foot passage along the west lot line from the proscenium wall to Sutter street. The main front of the building is on Sutter street and is designed after the old Spanish. The main entrance to the theatre is through a lobby leading from the center of the Sutter street front, on one side of which is located the box office and manager's private office.
"There will be a confectionery store on the corner and a cafe on the west end of the front. Between the lobby and cafe, with an entrance leading from the auditorium, there will be a ladies' parlor, which it is intended to furnish with every convenience for the comfort of ladies and children. The second floor over the lobby and stores contains seven offices having an entrance from Steiner street and having no connection whatsoever with the theatre. The main auditorium is seventy- seven feet long and eighty-eight feet wide, and contains one balcony and twelve boxes. The seating capacity is 1474. The balcony is supported on two columns so located that there is a clear view of the stage from every seat in the house. The sight line from the balcony allows the footlights to be seen from the rear row of seats.
"The box fronts leave the proscenium wall at an angle of sixty degrees,
which will allow persons seated in the boxes a very full view of the
stage. The floor of the auditorium slopes toward the stage about one
foot in every twelve feet. The orchestra pit is sufficient to
accommodate the largest orchestra required for opera productions, and as
will be seen upon examining the longitudinal section herewith given, is
located partly under the stage, the leader occupying a semi-circular
niche projecting into the center aisle. The pit is six feet deep and
only the leader will be seen by the audience. The back wall of the pit
will be of hard wood, forming a sounding board. This feature is an
innovation in San Francisco but has been used successfully elsewhere.
The ornamentation of the auditorium is to be stucco and in design
contains a suggestion of the Moorish, as the name 'Alcazar' implies.
Most of the ornamentation is applied to the boxes and proscenium arch,
plain wall surfaces, appropriately colored, being considered more
effective than masses of applied ornament and being much less expensive.
There is to be a paneled wainscoting six feet high throughout the
auditorium.
"The stage floor is of fire-proof construction
excepting a space the width of the proscenium opening from the
footlights to the rear wall, which will be of wood. This is the only
floor in the building that is non-fire-proof, and is permitted under the
building ordinance to be so. The floor is to be almost entirely made up
of trap doors. The stage is ninety-four feet long and thirty-five feet
deep. There are two stories of dressing rooms at each end. The fly
galleries, forming the ceiling for the upper story of dressing rooms,
are connected by a paint bridge located five feet from the rear wall.
Twenty-five feet above the fly galleries there is a metal gridiron, on
which are located the blocks for raising and lowering the various
curtains, flies and other paraphernalia used on the stage.
"The
stage roof is of reinforced concrete on steel beams and covered with
asphaltum and is ventilated by two thirty-six-inch galvanized iron
ventilators ten feet high and with counter-balanced flat tops to
ventilate stage, also two skylights, so arranged that they will slide
clear of their curbs upon releasing their fastening, which may be done
from the stage floor. In construction an attempt has been made to follow
the letter and spirit of the law and in a number of instances the law
has been bettered. There are ten six-foot exits from the sides of the
auditorium and the main entrance has twenty-two feet of clear opening.
All stairs throughout the building are of iron. The walls are of brick
supported upon a rigid steel frame and will be plastered with cement
plaster outside and plastered upon a damp-proof coating inside.
"The
roof over the front portion is of reinforced concrete covered with
tile, while the roof of the auditorium is of corrugated galvanized iron,
supported upon steel purlins carried by four trusses eighty-eight feet
in span. The ceiling of the auditorium is plastered on metal lath and in
order to deaden the sound of rain falling upon the roof, a false
ceiling of plaster on metal lath has been designed to go midway between
the roof and main ceiling. In designing the structural work for this
building the architects were bothered to no little extent by some of the
provisions of the new building ordinances, notable among which is the
provision that the metal of columns shall be at least eight inches from
the outside of party line or court walls, while permitting four inches
for front walls. To the writer this seems absurd, for the same section
permits the metal of girders or wall beams to be two inches from the
same lines, and in order that one may use thirteen-inch curtain walls it
is necessary to place eccentric loads upon columns. The provision
requiring an eight- foot passageway on each side of a theatre of this
capacity and at the same time permitting obstructions at the end of the
passage amounting to three feet, does not seem, to say the least,
consistent."
The projected October opening didn't happen due to difficulties with the delivery of steel. Fred Belasco discussed the theatre's progress in "Fred Belasco tells of how the Iron entered his Soul." It's an article by James Crawford that appeared in the November 4, 1906 SF Call that Art Siegel located via the California Digital Newspaper Collection:
" 'SINCE ground was broken for this structure-to-be,' said Fred Belasco as we stood amid the upright columns and prostrate girders that are to compose the framework of the new Alcazar Theater, 'I have been taught by experience to abstain from either making promises or posing as a prophet. Therefore I will venture no farther in the way of positiveness than to hope that on Christmas eve the doors of our playhouse will be open to the public.'... The neatness and dispatch,' he said, 'with which the site was excavated and the foundations were laid warranted me to predict that the theater would be ready for business on October 15, but then the iron had not entered my soul... The metal had been ordered and the contractor pledged to have it ready for erection in ample time to make good my prediction, and after that pleasant practical study in reinforced concrete I was perfectly confident that there was only plain sailing ahead... My business partner, Mr. Mayer, rushed to New York to purchase stage
properties and fixtures, and our stage manager, Mr. Butler, accompanied
him to secure plays and engage people... For two months I awaited the arrival of the iron, spending my days hounding the contractor and my nights 'twixt wakefulness and dreams in which iron was the dominant factor...'
"...'It came at last, and here it is, being erected as fast as men can be set to work. I intend — hope, I mean — to have two shifts a day, toiling from now until the framework is up. The rest of the construction should be easy, for the material is all here. To be optimistic doesn't seem prudent, but I'll continue to hope.' Then he escorted me to a large frame building on Bush street, between Fillmore and Steiner whence emanated the shriek of a buzz saw and other sounds of industry. And the interior was a revelation. 'It's the Alcazar workshop— the only theater adjunct of its kind in America,' he explained, as I wonderingly stared around me. Several wood-working machines were in full blast, against the walls were leaning stage 'flats' and 'wings' in various stages of construction, an artisan was boring holes in a large marble slab that was to serve as an electric switchboard, and the remaining floor space was largely taken up by piles of lumber and stacks of dismembered theater chairs.
"Iron Does One Good Turn. 'This Is a result of the tardy arrival of that — steel,' said the manager, proudly surveying his environment. 'While waiting for the — stuff — it occurred to my mind that similar suspense in regard to other necessaries might be averted by providing the means of having them manufactured right here instead of sending East for them. Mr. Mayer approved the suggestion, and this is the outcome.' 'But isn't it rather— extravagant?' I faltered. 'Of course we thought of that, but after figuring it out we came to the conclusion that the outlay would ultimately effect a considerable saving. How? Why, by taking to ourselves the profits that would otherwise go to the regular manufacturers of theater furnishings. We provide the factory and the machinery and material and depend upon our carpenters and electricians — whom we would have to retain under salary, anyway — to make all the fixings necessary for our first production...'
"The creative stage carpenter was finishing a fireplace and mantel — an old fashioned Dutch effect — and when I called Mr. Belasco's attention to the fact that the materials used were thin boards and canvas he said that their utilization was necessitated by the inconvenience of having iron or stone on the stage. 'These affairs,' he said, 'can be taken to pieces and cleared away in a moment without the aid of a derrick or a mechanic,' and in a trice he pulled the flimsy structure into half a dozen parts, and almost as quickly reunited them. 'That's how a quick change of scene can be effected,' he added.
"MANAGER FRED BELASCO, WHO NO LONGER
CARES TO PREDICT BUT CONTINUES TO HOPE."
"Fat Persons Will Praise. When we returned to the main workshop he expatiated upon the superiority of the 1400 audience chairs there stored. 'The fat person who attends the new Alcazar will sit and call us blessed,' he said, measuring with a tape line to prove his claim that each seat was three inches wider than any theater chair now in use here. 'And the long-legged person, too, will have cause for rejoicing,' he went on, 'in the fact that we shall give him several inches more space in which to extend his knees than he can find in any other theater in this city...' The electrician was called to corroborate his employer's assertion that the total number of lights in the Alcazar shall be not less, maybe more, than 1700. Not only did the electrician do so, but he assured me that no theater in the world will be more completely equipped with means of artificial illumination, both on and off the stage.
"Some Electrical Wonders. 'We shall receive power from two distinct sources," said Mr. Belasco, 'so that if one is crippled we shall not be left in darkness. Besides, we shall have a complete gas service, although the possibility of it ever being called into requisition is most remote. Show him how you'll be able to instantly detect a break or cross in the electric wiring in any part of the house and repair it before serious damage can be done.' In each fuse on the spacious switch board a diminutive speck was pointed out and the information given that it will eject a tiny puff of smoke if anything goes wrong with the wire to which it is attached. Then the ever watchful electrician shall hasten at once and repair the defect. Thus is danger of fire from hidden wires reduced to a minimum.
"But the apparatus in which the electrician seemed to take more pride was a device by which the stage can be lighted or darkened gradually without the apparent jerkiness that usually mars the intended realism of sunrise or sunset. All shades of color can be transmitted by this invention, from a gray dawn to a purpling dusk. While old mission style architecture marks the exterior plan of the Alcazar, its interior is to be decorated in Moorish design, a la the Alhambra at Madrid. The general color scheme runs to warm blues and browns and golds, with polished brass wherever available, as in the rails of the lobbies and boxes. The decorator's design is a most gorgeous picture, and, if strictly adhered to, the house, when illuminated by varicolored electric bulbs, will present a ravishing sight. 'It may appear incongruous with the sober exterior effect,' said Mr. Belasco, 'but while we were resolved to recognize California in the general plan we could not carry the dull mission idea to the interior, so we adopted the Moorish style as a concession to the title of the theater.'
"All the actors have not yet been engaged, but a number of them, booked while the Belasco soul was free from iron, are on half salary and awaiting call for rehearsal. Nor has the opening play been chosen. Stage Manager Butler having been instructed to remain in New York until the last of the new productions has scored or failed and he is qualified by actual observation to sift the wheat from the chaff and secure the former if possible. Justifiable Dilatoriness. 'We desire to open our house with the best obtainable play and the best obtainable set of players,' was Mr. Belasco's elucidation of the seeming tardiness in announcing his initial attraction, 'and I think it would be best for all concerned to reserve publication of the play's title and the company's personnel until Mr. Butler's quest is ended. Don't you?' Whlle my answer was in process of utterance, an eager-eyed young man rushed into the workshop and hailed the manager with an excited shout, 'I've found 'em.' 'Found what?' was the response. 'Them horsehair chairs! We can get half a dozen of 'em for twelve dollars!' 'Hooray— it's dirt cheap. Go and close the bargain at once— here's the money!'
"Cash in hand, the messenger fled, and Mr. Belasco informed me that since the big fire it has been easier to find hen's teeth than old furniture in this city. 'All the old houses were destroyed, you know,' he said, 'and the old goods and chattels that were saved cannot be purchased for anything like a reasonable price, because had they had not been highly valued they would have been left to burn, I guess. That young fellow has spent 7 weeks searching for horsehair-covered chairs— and just to think that he got six of 'em for $2 apiece! You don't know where any old pictures are stowed away, do you?' I do not, nor do I cease to suspect that a scene in the Alcazar's opening play will include horsehair-covered chairs and aged pictures— to say nothing of an old-fashioned fireplace that can be dissected and stuck together again in a brace of shakes."
In a
February 15, 1907 Merced County Sun article Art Siegel located that was headlined "Building by Electric Light - Work On Many Of San Francisco's New Buildings Goes On Day and Night" they had this to say about the Alcazar:
"Not all of San Francisco's night life is revelry and [there's] an effort among all its inhabitants to keep alive the tradition of a pleasure-seeking metropolis, says the Chronicle. With the coming of dry weather a surprisingly large part of the city’s nocturnal activity is being devoted to rehabilitation.... Busy on Alcazar. No activity behind the stage curtain could be more stirring than the work on the Alcazar Theater building, which is being rushed in order to ring up the curtain in six weeks.
"Over a hundred men, including carpenters, plasterers, decorators and metal workers, will form the night force which this week begins the transformation of the interior into a modern playhouse. H. G. Corwin, the architect, and builder of the new Alcazar, and Otto B. Romer, stage carpenter at the old Alcazar, are taking a hand in the night work, and making it as effective as possible. The building will be a class A construction and used exclusively as a theater. The brick work has been finished, and fitting up the interior will be carried on day and night, rain or shine..."
A
March 12, 1907 Los Angeles Herald article discussing the new theatre and its staff. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website.
The drawing of the theatre that was used as a preview of the project in July 1906 was trotted out again in the
March 19, 1907 SF Call in their coverage of the opening. This time we also got photos of Belasco and Mayer. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this via the CDNC site. The opening show was "The Altar of Friendship."
The article about the opening from the March 19, 1907 SF Call.
"SAN FRANCISCO'S NEW THEATER. THE ALCAZAR, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -- By Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO. March 18.— Belasco & Mayer's new Alcazar theater was opened tonight under conditions that were decidedly auspicious. The play house was crowded with a representative audience that applauded without stint the capital work of the new Alcazar stock company. With the exception of Bertram Lyttle, Daisy Lovering and Laura Lang, a trio of clever, well-known eastern players, the Alcazar organization is the same that occupied the stage of the old Alcazar before the earthquake.
"The new playhouse was built by the owners, Belasco & Mayer, at a cost of $300,000. It is the first strictly class A theater to be erected in the city and is perhaps the most beautiful as well as the safest playhouse in the entire west. The house is located at the corner of Steiner and Sutter, and is of Moorish design throughout. The seating capacity is 1740. The Alcazar will be devoted exclusively to the performances of Belasco & Mayer's stock company."
Belasco's wife, Juliet Crosby, and his business partner, Morris Mayer, die within days of the opening. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the story in the
March 23, 1907 SF Call:
" Juliet Crosby Dies; News Kills Kin, M. E. Mayer... Juliet Crosby, one of San Francisco's most popular players, passed away
yesterday, following the death of her child... In private life Juliet Crosby was Mrs. Frederick Belasco, wife of the manager of the Alcazar Theater, and with whom Mayer was associated as business partner in theatrical enterprises. Wednesday night Mrs. Belasco's child was born... When she found that her child was dead she submitted patiently, saying 'It was God's will.' The child was taken away and buried the following day. Thursday night Mrs. Belasco's condition grew worse, and at 4 o'clock yesterday morning she passed away. When the sad news was carried to the upper flat, where Morris Mayer was anxiously awaiting tidings from her, the shock was too great for his weak heart. He fell to the floor, and in half an hour he, too, was dead.
"Juliet Crosby won a fame that extended far beyond the bounds of California and classed her with the famous players of the country. It is safe to say, however, that she was nowhere more beloved than by the frequenters of the old Alcazar Theater. Her sweetness of disposition endeared her to the public as much as her brilliant talent. It was during her appearance at the old Alcazar that Belasco, manager of the theater, met and wooed her. They were married nine years ago, their wedding day being the 16th of this month, which also was Mrs. Belasco's thirtieth birthday. One of her most successful roles was that of Madam Butterfly in the play of that name. Last summer she played at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, and she had intended to appear again at the new Alcazar Theater here later in the season. Mrs. Belasco's mother resided at the Belasco home, and was with her to the last.
"Maurice [sic] E. Mayer had been associated with Belasco for ten years. They completed the building of the new Alcazar recently, and the work connected with its erection and opening, together with the losses sustained in the fire and the great nervous strain to which he had been subjected, weakened Mayer's heart, so that he was not in condition to withstand a severe shock. He was born in Germany fifty-three years ago, and came to this city as a boy. He leaves a widow and one son. The double funeral will be held from the Belasco home at 1704 Sutter street on Sunday morning at 10 o'clock. Only relatives and a number of friends of the family will be present. Dr. J. Nieto will officiate, and interment will be in the Hills of Eternity Cemetery."
"The Unforseen" was the theatre's second show. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this opening day ad in the March 25, 1907 SF Call. The page can be viewed on the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. See a photo from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library taken when "The Unforseen" was on the theatre's swing-out readerboard.
Art Siegel located this item in the November 7, 1907 SF Call via the California Digital Newspaper collection:
"'The
Heart of Maryland' continues to draw crowded audiences to the Alcazar
but will be withdrawn after Sunday to make room for George H.
Broadhurst's drama 'The Mills of the Gods,' which is to be elaborately
produced Monday evening."
The
cover for the program for the week of April 19, 1909. The New Alcazar
Stock Company was presenting "The Regeneration," a drama in four acts by
Owen Kildare and Walter Hackett. The program, in the collection of the
Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library is on
Calisphere.
The version of the cover used in June 1910. Thanks to Rick Bellamy for sharing this from his collection as a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
An inside page from Rick's June 1910 program. An
upcoming show was to be "Anna Karenina" starring Virginia
Harned, who had also been in a 1907 Broadway production.
An ad for the production that appeared in the June 9, 1910 issue of the San Francisco Call. Thanks to Rick for locating this on the site Newspaper Archive.
This November
1911 program is one of the last for the Alcazar at the Sutter St. location. The program, in the collection of the Museum of
Performance and Design Performing Arts Library, is on Calisphere. It's
for the week of November 20, 1911 when famous American actor Burr
McIntosh was brought in to perform with the Alcazar Players in "At Piney
Ridge," a play of Tennessee life by David K. Higgins.
In
December 1911 the new Alcazar Theatre opened downtown at 260 O'Farrell, a block
away from the original. When that house opened, this one at Sutter and Steiner was renamed the Republic, running with that name until 1925.
The theatre, here called the
Republic, is seen in the upper right of this detail from page 277 of volume 3 of the 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. That's Sutter St. across the top of the
image and Steiner St. down the right. In the upper center along Sutter
is a
house plus the Golden Gate Commandery Hall, a building used by a number
of fraternal organizations. On the left at Sutter and Pierce, and
extending down to Post St. along the bottom, is the Pavilion Rink, later
known as the Winter Garden, opened in September 1906. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this in the Library of Congress collection. Their site calls it image 54.
The National Theatre, also opened in 1906, is in the lower
right at Post St. and Steiner. Just
north of the National, and also behind it, was the Dreamland Rink, another 1906 building. The Dreamland and National properties were the later location of Winterland.
Also see
a black and white version of the map detail that John Freeman located and scanned from Digital
Sanborn Maps 1867-1970, volume 3, sheet 277 via the
San Francisco Public Library. He notes: "There was only
one dwelling, but the rest of the entire block was taken up with some
variation of entertainment or fraternal secrecy!"
The cover for a March 1914 program when the theatre was running as a vaudeville house called the Republic. At the time, it was an operation of the United Theatre Co. with M. Lebovitz working as the manager and bookings handled by the Western States Vaudeville Association. Thanks to Jeff Greenwood for
sharing this from his collection of memorabilia related to his
great-grand-aunt, singer, actress and vaudeville
performer Anna Robinson. She and her husband, magician Frederick Palmer, were on this bill with an act called "The Maid and the Mountebank." Four inside pages of the program are reproduced at the bottom of the page.
In 1926 it was called the Sutter. And then perhaps went dark.
It emerged as an atmospheric house called the Uptown after a 1930 remodel by Golden State Theatre Circuit. The project was discussed in a February 28 Chronicle article
where they admit using the foundation and walls of the Alcazar. They
list a cost of $250,000. The reopening was March 1, 1930. It was covered
that day in an article in the Chronicle. It's viewable on Newsbank.
The house got another remodel in 1937 with a complete change of look
from the atmospheric style to a moderne hard top. Jack Tillmany
comments: "A quick look thru the SF Chronicle reveals the last 1937
Uptown ad
Sunday 9 May 1937 after which not a whisper until the re-opening promos
the following September, so that must be when they shut down for the
re-do, which seems to have immediately followed the Haight re-do by just
a couple months, which makes sense. The September 17 Chronicle had an article about the reopening of the "newly remodeled" theatre.
The theatre was closed and for lease in 1964. It was open again in 1969 as Lloyd Downton's Uptown.
Final closing date: Unknown
The Uptown in the Movies: The theatre is seen 20 seconds into the
Martin Scorsese film "The Last Waltz." We're on a Thanksgiving Day 1976
tour of the desolate Fillmore neighborhood before heading to
Winterland, just around the corner from the Uptown. The opening sequence
is on You Tube. Thanks to Stephen Stich for finding the clip.
Status: It was demolished in the late 70s.
Interior views:
A look up the lobby stairs after the theatre got a remodel
in 1930. The photo
appears along with a story about the project in the August 1931 issue of
Architect and Engineer: "gay colors, jazzy patterns, bright patches of
light and unusual details everywhere to interest and please the theatre
patrons." It's on Internet Archive. The photo is also in the San Francisco Public Library collection, from Jack Tillmany.
This lobby was totally gutted in the 1937 moderne renovation including new walls and stairs.
It didn't start out as an atmospheric. This was the look after the 1930 remodel by architects Fabre & Hildebrand. "...much
attention has been given to sky and lighting effects. The camouflage of
open sky, airy distances and the substantial character which has been
given the construction of picturesque
houses, which comprise the side walls of the theatre, has been achieved
with much realism. The audience would seem to be seated in an open court
surrounded by adjoining tile roofed structures with decorative
balconies..."
The lobby after the 1937 moderne renovation. It's a photo in the Jack Tillmany collection that came from Marc Wanamaker.
Gary Parks comments: "Look at the Moderne light fixture on the ceiling. These were throughout the theatre. When the
Uptown was closed, a young Allen Michaan snagged them. To this day, two
of them hang from the ceiling in the Guild Theatre -- Menlo Park--which
he embellished when he ran the house, and two were hung in the lobby of
the Oaks, Berkeley, when he had that one. My friend Mark Santa Maria
had another one."
The lobby in 1943. Note the addition of a snack bar. The Ted Newman photo from the Jack Tillmany
collection is on the San Francisco Public Library website. They give it an erroneous date of March 1930.
The balcony lobby after the moderne redo. The February 1943 photo by Ted Newman from the Jack Tillmany collection appears on the San Francisco Public Library website.
The rear of the house in 1943. The Ted Newman photo from the Jack Tillmany collection on the San Francisco Public Library website.
The proscenium in 1943. It's a photo by Ted Newman from the Jack Tillmany collection that appears on the San Francisco Public Library website.
More exterior views:
A view taken soon after the opening. "The Unforseen" was the theatre's second show. Art Siegel notes that it opened March 25, 1907. Although they were open, the project was still unfinished. Note the piles of construction debris and guys up working on the vertical sign. They still needed to get the "A" up there. The photo is on Calisphere from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection. There's also a copy from the scrapbooks of Henry Hamilton Dobbin in the California State Library collection.
That big hulk on the left is the stagehouse.
The sliver of a building beyond is the first version of Dreamland Rink. Out of the frame farther left at the NW corner of Post and Steiner
was Grauman's National Theatre, opening in May 1906. The 1928 Dreamland/Winterland building would occupy both the site of the earlier roller rink
as well as that of the National.
A bit later in
1907 when the theatre was running a show called "The Pit." On the left, looking down
Steiner beyond the Alcazar's stagehouse and the Dreamland Rink we get another
glimpse of the National. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for locating this
image in the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection for a post on the BAHT Facebook page. Art Siegel comments: "'The Pit' played at the Alcazar both in April and October 1907. From the construction going on, probably the April run."
Jack Tillmany calls our attention to the little item atop the vertical which
said "New" to correspond to the way the theatre was initially
advertised. Note the split vertical -- a gap for the protruding tile
roof.
The swing-out readerboard seen on this fall 1907 card is advertising
"The Mills of the Gods." Art Siegel notes that this show opened
November 11, 1907. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the postcard from his collection.
A June 1909 view of the theatre from Jack Tillmany, in the San Francisco Public Library collection. Florence Roberts is appearing in "Du Barry."
A
look west on Sutter at Steiner in April 1916 from the SFMTA Archives.
Here our theatre, on the left, is called the Republic. Later it would
be called the Sutter before getting a big remodel in 1930 and ending up
as the Uptown. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for this version of the photo. Bob Ristelhueber also had one on the BAHT Facebook page.
The vertical was redone when the theatre became the Sutter. Jack Tillmany
has a photo of the Victory Theatre across the street after it became called the Sutter. It has a pre-1930 looking
vertical that both Jack and Gary Parks think was hauled across the street when the Alcazar/Republic became the Uptown.
A February 1943 photo by Ted Newman of the theatre as the Uptown. They're running "Gentleman Jim" with Errol Flynn, released in November 1942. The photo and the ticket stubs are from the Jack Tillmany collection. A smaller version of the image appears on the
San Francisco Public Library website.
A July 2,
1949 view of the theatre. It's a Jack Tillmany collection photo,
appearing on p.103 of his Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco." It's also on the Open SF History Project website. The Sutter Theatre is on the extreme left edge of the image. Jack notes that the occasion for the photo was that it was the last day of streetcar service on Sutter St.
This 1964 view of
the theatre by Alan J. Canterbury is in the San Francisco Public Library collection.
A look up Steiner past Winterland toward the Uptown and St.
Dominic's Church on Bush St. It's a c.1968 Tom Gray photo in the Jack
Tillmany collection.
Open again in 1969 as Lloyd Downton's Uptown. The marquee reads "Underground Movies For Mature Swinging Adults" "New Sex Show Every Monday."
It's a photo in the Jack Tillmany collection.
Looking west on Sutter from Fillmore St. c.1970. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing this from his collection. That theatre marquee half way down the block on the right is the Sutter Theatre, 2030 Sutter St. It was in use as a church until 1973. Howard Freedman notes that the bar on the right, the Big Glass, closed in 1968.
A detail of the closed theatre from Sean's photo.
A
June 6, 1972 photo from George A. Dibble III on the Facebook page San
Francisco Remembered. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for spotting it for the
BAHT Facebook page. George comments: "Crowd
for the 2nd Rolling Stone show lining up in front of the Uptown
Theater, across from Winterland at Steiner & Sutter. I had just
come out of the first show. Stevie Wonder was the warm up."
Scaffolding going up for the demolition. It's a photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
The blueprints: Gary Parks has four sets of prints in his collection. The first shows the original 1907 design.
The second set from 1929 are the prints by Fabre and Hildebrand showing the remodel that turned it into the atmospheric house called the Uptown. Evidently the name emerged late in the process. Gary notes that the prints refer to the project as the Sutter, the name of the theatre at the time.
Sets three and four are by Alexander Cantin. The first, from 1936 dhows a "lighthanded" renovation with a moderne design scheme." This wasn't executed. On these plans we get the first look at the moderne tower and sign on the corner. Set number four was the total moderne renovation of 1937.
From set #1 - 1907
The corner tower. Gary comments: "Here, the Alcazar, which looks here like it was built, as far as I can
tell. The blueprints I have are not always complete, for instance, this
set has no front facade drawing, only the side facade."
A section. Gary: "A section looking toward proscenium, which is pretty typical, but look
at the interesting caps on the upper boxes, and the Moorish detailing in
the access passages."
From set #2 - 1929 - the atmospheric remodel
A Sutter St. Elevation. Gary comments: "So the remodel into the Uptown kept the entrance where it was, but
removed the tile roofs from the towers, and replaced them--and much of
the facade top, which Andalusian filagree. However--when we get to the
"lighthanded" (1936) Version 1 of the moderne remodel, you'll note that the Spanish detailing ended up more elaborate over the
old entrance."
"Proscenium shot...as over-the-top in its Spanish ornament as any theatre of the period built in Los Angeles or Hollywood. T
he
arched grille to the left of the proscenium (and the one on the house right side) are labeled as organ chambers
on the plans. Whether they were filled with pipes, is not stated.
There is an orchestra pit shown, but nothing specifically indicative of a
console in the pit."
A sidewall elevation. Gary comments: "Note the plain pier immediately to the right of the organ
grille. That's where the original Alcazar proscenium was! In creating
the Uptown, the stage sacrificed over half its depth in favor of more
seats and a new orchestra pit. A sign of the times. Compare the
sidewall ornamentation with the 1930 photo from
Architect and Engineer."
From set #3 - the 1936 unexecuted "lighthanded" moderne renovation
A Sutter St. elevation. Gary comments: "Here's what Cantin planned at first. A totally new entrance, moved to
the corner, with a tower and vertical much like what was actually
built. But much exterior ornament from 1930 remained, and much Interior
ornament as well, with some alterations, mostly at the rear of the
auditorium, to improve sightlines. In some places, existing 1930
ornament was to be replicated or moved and reinstalled.
"To
confuse us a little more, the Cantin "lighthanded" 1936 remodel
concept shows ample 1920s exterior ornament as pre-existing...but
some of it doesn't match the stuff Fabre & Hildebrand's 1929 drawings
show. So--even their plans were partially altered (and I don't have
those revision drawings) from what my F&H set shows."
A facade detail. Gary "Note how the simple mission style exterior of the original
Alcazar design, with its single Carmel-Mission shaped grille, is still
extant here."
A detail of the new tower and vertical proposed in 1936.
An auditorium section. Gary: "The drawings state that the interior walls and ornament to the
left of what you see here are to remain -- the 1930 atmospheric detailing
to be left alone. But it's interesting to see how the back half of the
auditorium was to retain that look, though some parts--including
sections of the false buildings--were to be altered carefully."
From set #4 - the moderne remodel executed in 1937
Gary comments: "The sign tower--much like in the lighthanded earlier remodel plan,
but with all Alcazar and earlier Uptown remnants consigned to oblivion."
A lobby floorplan. Note how different the stair configurations are in the 1930 and 1943 lobby photos higher on the page. Gary comments about the discrepancy: "They solve the question of the non-matching stairs
one sees, when comparing the 1930 Spanish lobby with the later Moderne
remodel. Mystery solved! So let it be written, so let it be done! And lo, a whole new lobby was
created. And Mr. Cantin and his clients smiled upon what had been
made. And it was good."
The 1930 version of the lobby was completely gutted. The plans say "Remove all walls, stairs, plumbing, partitions..."
An auditorium sidewall elevation. Gary: "The interior, as the photos show. I could design stuff like this all day." Thanks, Gary!
Pages from a March 1914 program from the collection of Jeff Greenwood:
Palmer and Robinson were on a three day contract for this engagement for a fee of $100. Earlier San Francisco engagements had included c.1904 run at the
Lyceum on Market. Anna had also performed with a stock company at
Fischer's Theatre on Sutter St. in 1909.
Publicity photos of the duo from the Jeff Greenwood collection. Thanks, Jeff!
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.
See the Cinema Treasures and Cinema Tour pages on the theatre.
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