Opened: c.1910. It was on the east side of the street between Folsom & Harrison, just a bit north of a little dead end street called Verona. Jack Tillmany reports that the first city directory listings were in the April 1911 and August 1911 editions.
Architect: J. C. Flugger. The drawing was taken from plans for the project in the Gary Parks collection. See several more images down at the bottom of the page.
Seating: 400
A December 1, 1929 ad for Goldberg Theatres. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating it.
Closing: Perhaps 1930. Jack reports: "The last city directory listing was 1930, so it obviously never made into the talking picture era and was torn down. By the 1950s the site had been turned into a low price parking lot and I used to park there when I worked as a stock clerk in the financial district. What fascinated me was the word MAJESTIC still spelled out in tile blocks where the entrance had once been, even though the building was long gone."
An article about the Majestic that appeared on page 425 of the July 15, 1916 Moving Picture World. It's on Google Books. Jack Tillmany comments: "I suspect the 'larger and finer house' mentioned in the blurb was the Peerless, which more or less confirms its 1912 opening date."
A January 23, 1919 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. We're looking north toward Folsom. The street this side of the theatre is Verona St.
An article about the Majestic that appeared on page 425 of the July 15, 1916 Moving Picture World. It's on Google Books. Jack Tillmany comments: "I suspect the 'larger and finer house' mentioned in the blurb was the Peerless, which more or less confirms its 1912 opening date."
A January 23, 1919 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. We're looking north toward Folsom. The street this side of the theatre is Verona St.
A detail from the 1919 photo.
A closer look at the 3rd St. facade. Gary comments: "Comparing the facade as drawn with the photos, it is essentially the same design, though—as built—it got the benefit of a larger array of cast ornament. It looks like there was a little arched balcony from which management could look down at the folks buying tickets. It’s interesting to see how numerous were the nickelodeons with this feature."
Images from the plans for the theatre in the Gary Parks collection:
J. C. Flugger's name on the plans. Gary Goss, the owner of the plans before Gary Parks got them, had noted the year 1910 on the outside.
A floorplan and elevation. Gary comments: "There exists only one more sheet for this theatre, but it’s mostly
concrete foundations. It’s interesting to see from the drawings, and
from the street photo, how this little theatre wrapped around the Verona
Hotel."
A closer look at the 3rd St. facade. Gary comments: "Comparing the facade as drawn with the photos, it is essentially the same design, though—as built—it got the benefit of a larger array of cast ornament. It looks like there was a little arched balcony from which management could look down at the folks buying tickets. It’s interesting to see how numerous were the nickelodeons with this feature."
Thanks, Gary!
More information: There isn't any at the moment.
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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