Maguire's Opera House

618 Washington St.  | map |

Opened: 1856. The three story Maguire's Opera House was the first San Francisco theatre built with the intention of housing grand opera with its big stage, a large pit, and good rigging. Although the house was supposedly dedicated to opera they also ran minstrel shows, burlesque, farce, and melodrama.

One of the posters on display in the photo is for the "British Blonde Burlesque Troupe," a show that opened in June 1870. Also advertised is "Luna, or the little boy who cried for the moon." The photo by Eadweard Muybridge is on Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. Thanks to Art Siegel for dating it as well as locating a stereo card version of it in the J. Paul Getty Museum collection.

The photo also appears with "Early San Francisco Theater," an article by Greg Williamson on the Found SF site. It's also on a Bancroft Library "Mark Twain Project" page. There's also a version from Eldon Grupp that he posted on the San Francisco History Facebook page where he noted "...we see Muybridge’s Flying Studio photo wagon at the left and his 'Helios' logo at the bottom right."  

The location was on the north side of the street between Montgomery and Kearny. In the 1871 city directory the address was listed as "N. side of Washington near Montgomery." The 618 address also appears in that issue of the directory.

An earlier Theatre on the site: Prior to coming to this location, Maguire had begun his building spree in 1850 by constructing the Jenny Lind Theatre atop his hotel and saloon in Portsmouth Square. It burned, as did the second one. In 1852, saddled with debt after building and enjoying a brief tenancy at the 3rd version, he sold the building to the City for $200,000 for use as the City Hall. 

 

With his profits he paid off the debts and took over San Francisco Hall at this Washington St. location, also known as the San Francisco Theatre, and opened Christmas Day 1852. In 1856 he demolished that single story building and replaced it with the new Maguire's Opera House.

Seating: 1,000 when the Opera House opened in 1856 with 700 on the main floor and 400 in the balcony. A second balcony added a year and a half later added another 600 seats. 

For a time, Maguire's was the place to play in San Francisco. James Madison, in a 1925 article, comments: "During the sixties many famous actors played there, including Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, John McCullough, Lucille Western, Frank Mayo, Matilda Heron and Adah Isaacs Menken." The article, "San Francisco Theatrical Memories," is reproduced on a SF Museum page.

 

An ad from an 1856 directory when Maguire was calling his first building on the site the San Francisco Hall. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for the find. It was a post on the BAHT Facebook page.

 

A Bancroft Library "Mark Twain Project" page notes that this is the theatre where Twain saw Adah Isaacs Menken appear in "Mazeppa" in September 1863. 

 

 

 

A November 1865 flyer for Maguire's for "Strollers or Lady Camilla's husband!" It's on Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. Thanks to Art Siegel for researching the date. He also located an ad for the production appearing in the November 25 issue of the Daily Alta California. It's on the website of the California Digital Newspaper Collection.  

 

 

 

An 1866 flyer on Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library.  

An ad for the "British Blonde Burlesque Troupe" and "Luna!" that appeared in the Daily Alta California on June 17, 1870. This review was in the same issue:

"Maguire's Opera House — The British Blonde Burlesque Troupe were received with all the honors last night— a theatre crowded to its capacity, and no end of enthusiasm, bouquets, baskets of flowers and recalls. The performance commenced with a farce, in which the comedian of the troupe, Mr. Harry Beckett, and Miss Eliza Weathersby, made their appearance, but this was only occupying time, for the burlesque was what the audience were there to see. When the curtain raised on 'Luna, or the Little Boy who cried for the Moon,' there was a hum of expectation until the representative of the 'Chaste Goddess' came on, and then, a storm of applause for the new star, Miss Rose Massey; she is beautiful, of symmetrical figure, and has a graceful carriage, with the most lovely golden tresses. She was accepted at once as a favorite, and will continue so if she listens to a little judicious advice about the 'Love among the Roses" song and dance, though she was even then rewarded by a tempest of applause and an enthusiastic recall. She is as beautiful as a picture when the flood of light is thrown on her at the back of the stage, and she knows how to choose a graceful and picturesque attitude to best display her beauty. 

"Miss Eliza Weathersby (another handsome blonde), as Endymion, shared in the applause and received the larger number of bouquets for her singing; she has a nice voice and sings very well. Miss Ada Harland, as Cupid, attracted a good deal of attention by her dancing and singing: she has a pleasant face, and grew in favor with each scene of the burlesque. Mr. Harry Beckett, the low comedian of the troupe, made an immense hit, as Actaeon, and especially in his singing of lit - the local allusions in the 'A, B, C' song; he hit Sam Brannan, Michael Reese, the Mercantile Library Gift Concert, Prince Alfred, Emperor Norton, and Woodward's Gardens, each sally bringing out an enthusiastic recall. Mr. Ketchum, as Pan, was hardly less successful than Mr. Beckett. Mr Maurice de Solla, another member of the troupe, was in this city some months ago, with his little son, the boy tenor. The burlesque and farce of last night will be repeated to-night."

Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the ad and review. The issue of the Daily Alta California is on the website of the California Digital Newspaper Collection. See more information about the Blondes on the site Operetta Research Center.     

Closing: The theatre closed in April 1873 and was demolished in May for street construction -- the pushing through of Columbus Ave., then called Montgomery Ave. The nearby Metropolitan Theatre on Montgomery St. was also lost to the street project. 

 

An ad for the "Doomed Theatre" that appeared that appeared in the April 23, 1873 issue of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it. 

An account of the demolition that appeared in the May 24, 1873 issue of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it.  

More Information: Maguire had opened the short-lived Academy of Music on Pine St. for several seasons of grand opera in the 1860s. After his Maguire's Opera House was demolished in 1873, he moved over to the Standard Theatre, at 318 Bush, a venue that he also called Maguire's Opera House.  

Later he took over the Alhambra Theatre at 325 Bush St. which he called, after a rebuild, Maguire's New Theatre. It was later renamed the Bush St. Theatre. In 1876 Maguire was managing the Baldwin Theatre located on Market St. at Powell. Initially it was called the Academy of Music. 

James R Smith's "San Francisco's Lost Landmarks" discusses San Francisco Hall and Maguire's Opera House on pages 96 to 100. The pages are included in the Google Books preview.

Maguire's adventures are discussed at length in the 1938 monograph by Lawrence Estevan titled "Tom Maguire; Dr. David G. (Yankee) Robinson; M.B. Leavitt." It was completed as part of a Works Progress Administration project. The copy in the collection of the San Francisco Public Library is reproduced on Internet Archive.  

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