312 Montgomery St. | map |
Opening: This
was an upstairs venue that evidently opened in 1865 as the home of the California Art Union, a gallery listed at 312
Montgomery in the 1865 city directory. Their signage is seen upstairs in the center building in this detail from an 1866 stereo view taken by
Lawrence & Houseworth. It was on the east side of the street just north of Pine St. The building on the left with the triangular pediment had recently been the
Eureka Theatre. By the time of the photo it had been repurposed as a museum of oddities.
The opening of the "fine and
spacious hall" of the Art Union was noted in a January 13, 1865 story in the "
California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences."
It's on the website of the California Digital History Collection.
Downstairs was Jones, Wooll & Sutherland, a framing establishment
and art dealer that had been around since 1855. The history of the downstairs tenant is discussed in "
When shortage was threatened, Gump's filled an unusual order," an October 22, 2018 Chronicle story by Leah Garchik. Thanks to Art Siegel for the research.
An ad on page 2 of the September 24, 1866 Daily Dramatic Chronicle gave the address for what was then called Lyceum Hall
as Montgomery St. between California and Pine. They were touting as an
"Immense Success" a show called "Birch's Holiday Trip - or - Tour of
Europe."
It was soon renamed Polytechnic Hall, evidently more of a museum of oddities than a theatre. An ad on page 3 of the December 3, 1866 Daily Dramatic Chronicle
boasted "Only 25 cents to see the wonders of Polytechnic Hall, 312
Montgomery St., learned pig, stereoscopic view, etc., etc." A page 3 ad
in the February 12, 1867 Daily Dramatic Chronicle noted that "curiosities are being continually added to the museum."
An item on page 3 of the February 14, 1867 Daily Dramatic Chronicle calls it the Lyceum Music Hall, noting that it would reopen the following Saturday, having just been leased by a Miss Nelly Vining. It's in the 1867 city directory as Lyceum Hall with the 312 Montgomery address.
Closing: Presumably 1867 was it. It's not listed in the 1868 directory.
This is the 1866 card the detail at the top of the page was taken from. We're looking north from Pine St. toward California. The Academy
of Music was just out of the frame to the right. Thanks to Art Siegel
for locating this in the
California State Library collection. It's their item #001390028.
Montgomery St. is on the left with the building formerly housing Lyceum Hall seen as 312, the second building north of the corner, in this detail from image 13 of the 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map in the Library of Congress
collection. The former Eureka Theatre building is seen as the Pacific Exchange at 314-316-318. Pine St. is
on the bottom of the image with the remodeled building that had been the Academy of Music at 328-330-332-334.
An 1895 drawing of the east side of Montgomery St. with California St. on the left and Pine St. on the right. It's from "The Illustrated Directory," published by the Hicks-Judd Company. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
The building that had been Lyceum Hall is seen, relatively unchanged, in the center of this detail from the 1895 drawing. The former Eureka Theatre is on the left at 318.
More information: The building is shown with a 310 address on
image 19 from the 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance
Map in the the Library of Congress collection. Also see image 13 from the 1887 Sanborn Map on the Library of Congress website.Several city directories (including the 1868 edition) also list a Lyceum Building that had been renamed the Exchange Building. It was on the northwest corner of Washington and Montgomery.
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