The Empire / Pantages Theatre

2080 Sutter St. | map |

 

Opened: September 24, 1906 as the Empire Theatre. The house was  initially booked by the Western States Vaudeville circuit. The image is a detail from a June 1909 photo in the Jack Tillmany collection. The theatre was on the north side of the street between Fillmore and Steiner.

 

An ad the day before opening. It appeared in the Sunday, September 23, 1906 SF Call. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website.

Buried in a page 4 September 25, 1906 Chronicle article about the comedy team of Kolb and Dill appearing at the Central Theatre on Market St. was this about the Empire:

"The Empire, a new theater, and one of the handsomest and most substantial of the recently built playhouses, opened its doors yesterday and entertained large audiences at every performance. The houses [sic] owned and operated by the Empire Theater circuit, a popular priced vaudeville combination, which controls similar houses in various parts of the State. William A. Weston and Ed Ackerman are associated in the management. The auditorium seats twelve hundred people.

"It will be the policy of the management to give a bill, consisting of a vaudeville olio and a short burlesque, which will be changed every week. The afternoon performance begins at 3 o'clock and the evening performances at 7:30 and 9 o'clock. The opening bill is as follows: Avill and Grimm, black face comedians; Oliver Smith, illustrated songs; Elmer E. Lissenden, monologist; the bioscope and Jack Goldin and company in a short burlesque entitled 'The Baron From Berlin.'"

Well, OK, the Empire did get third billing in the headline as well with the words "New Theater Is Opened." Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the research. The page can be viewed on Newsbank.

Jack notes that the Empire was an L-Shaped building with a back entrance on Steiner St. for the performers' entrance and loading. On the same block as the Empire just a bit farther east was the Sutter Theatre, which opened in November 1907. The 1908 city directory lists the Empire as at Sutter and Steiner. Some of the theatre's ads listed it that way as well.

Seating: 1,100

Stage information:

Proscenium: 32' wide x 18' high 

Stage depth: 26' 

Height to grid: 40'  

Wall to wall: 50' 

Power: both gas and electric

The stage information comes from Henry's 1907-08 Official Western Theatrical Guide, on Google Books.  

Pantages arrives: The Empire was taken over by Alexander Pantages in 1908. A short item titled "A Vaudeville War" was buried at the bottom of a review for a show at the Princess Theatre in the Oct 27, 1908 SF Call. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it via the California Digital History Collection website: 

"A contest for supremacy in the vaudeville theatrical business of the Pacific coast developed yesterday, when the announcement was made by Alexander Pantages, a theatrical magnate of the northwest, that he had control of the Empire theater in this city, the Alisky theater in Sacramento, and the Columbia theater in Oakland, in conjunction with houses in Seattle, Vancouver, B. C.; Victoria, B. C.; Bellingham, Portland, Tacoma and Spokane. 

"In all of these cities the Sullivan and Considine corporation operates theaters, and according to Pantages the chief opposition will arise against this firm. It was also announced last night that Pantages has been negotiating for the lease of a large structure downtown which has been projected, which he intends to convert into a showhouse. Application for a permit to alter the Empire theater, at Sutter and Steiner streets, was made yesterday by Pantages' representatives. This structure will be used until the new theatrical magnate secures a permanent location downtown."

The Pantages on Market St. wouldn't get open until December 30, 1911.

Jack Tillmany notes that the first ad he could find for the Empire that mentioned Pantages' involvement appeared the next day -- on page 7 of the October 28, 1908 Chronicle. The ad called it the Pantages Theatre, "formerly Empire," and promised "unequaled vaudeville."

The "official announcement" of the Pantages takeover appeared in an article on page 31 in the November 1, 1908 Chronicle. The page is on Newsbank.

But Pantages evidently never changed the signage. In a November 12, 1908 Chronicle ad he's calling it the Pantages Empire Theatre. In the 1909 photo at the top of the page there's Pantages advertising on the display boards and the Empire signage is still up.

Pantages moved his shows to the Central Theatre at 8th and Market in November 1909, calling it the Pantages Central. Art Siegel located an article about the new policy there in the November 21, 1909 SF Call via the California Digital Newspaper Collection. The Call noted this about the Empire: 

"... the Pantages acts... have formerly been offered at a theater in Sutter street near Steiner... the Sutter street house will probably be devoted to motion pictures and the more inexpensive forms of vaudeville.

A look west on Sutter toward the Empire and Steiner St. in 1909. This is the full Jack Tillmany collection photo that the image at the top of the page was derived from. That's the Sutter/Fischer's Theatre on the right. A smaller version of the photo is on the San Francisco Public Library website.

Closing: The last city directory listing for this theatre was the August 1911 edition. 

 

Status: It's been demolished. There was new construction on the site in 1913.

 

The Empire had been on the right, in the lot just in front of the horse. A new building was going up but then the project was halted. It's a November 13, 1913 photo by John Henry Mentz appearing on the SFMTA Photo Archive website, their #U04137. We're looking west toward Steiner St. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the image. 

The L-shaped lot where the Empire had been is seen in the lower left of this detail from Image 42 of Volume 3 of the 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from the Library of Congress collection. They note: "Walls one story high. Construction suspended indefinitely." That's the Victory/Fischer's/Sutter Theatre at 2030 Sutter in the lower center. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this. Steiner St. is on the left, Fillmore on the right end of the block. That's Bush St. across the top.

 

Jack Tillmany comments: 

 

"In later years (ca 1916-1920), it was the home of the California Fuel Company, who used Kleiber Motor Trucks manufactured in SF on Folsom St. and then later the Edward J. Lynch Electric Company, who I was surprised to discover, manufactured the 'florescent mural paintings' which enhanced the Grandview Theatre."

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 Tour page about the Empire.

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