The Globe Theatre

2753 Mission St. | map |

Opening: It opened in 1907 as one of many hastily built theatres constructed after the earthquake and fire. The southern portion of the Mission district was largely spared so it, along with the Fillmore, became one of the city's new theatre districts. The Globe was on the east side of the street between 23rd and 24th. Jack Tillmany reports about the project: 

"In November 1906 D.J. Grauman applied for a construction permit, which was apparently issued, but when it was completed, and an opening announced for 29 April 1907, the audience was turned away, because no operation permit had been issued; seems it was the hot issue of fire regulations once again, another potential firetrap; it apparently finally opened ca. November 1907 and was deemed an 'instantaneous success' (was there ever any other kind?)."

It's in the 1907 Crocker Langley city directory under "Theatres and Resorts" with an address as 2745 Mission. The 1908 edition also has it at 2745 Mission. The 1909 directory lists it at 2731 Mission. It's not in the 1910 directory. The 1911, 1912 and 1913 directories list it as on Mission between 23rd and 24th. In the 1914 and 1915 city directories it has an address of 2753 Mission. The 1914 Sanborn map gives it addresses of 2733 and 2769. Jack Tillmany adds: "Obviously, addresses seem to 'float' quite a bit. Maybe one address was for the 'theatre' and the other one for the 'offices' which were inside somewhere."

A San Francisco Call article on April 30th explained some alleged chicanery by Grauman in the construction, as brought to light by neighbors complaining about increased insurance rates that had resulted:  

"The Globe Theater has been a source of complaint ever since its construction was begun and it is largely owing to the efforts of the neighboring property owners that the license was refused.. Grauman applied for a building permit for an auditorium in November of last year and his plans were passed upon by the architect of the board of public works. The building planned was a one story open hall, and the drawings did not show any raise in the floor, stage, or elevation for stage settings, but simply a building of the auditorium class as distinguished from the theater class.  Grauman, however, did not build according to these plans. The property owners claim that upright boards were covered with a thin skin of plaster, a roof of three ply roofing paper was placed on the structure, and an elevation of almost 30 feet was built over the stage."

Architect: Daniel D. Kearns

Seating: 2,200 was one number reported. Well, maybe. A 1911 Call article reported something like 1,200.

Stage specifications:

Proscenium: 42' wide x 28' high
Stage Depth: 39'
Stage wall to wall: 125'
Grid Height: 56'
Illumination: Gas and Electric

The specifications for the Globe are listed in 1907-1908 edition of "Henry's Official Western Theatrical Guide." It's on Internet Archive. Sid Grauman was listed as the manager in the Henry's guide. At some point it was taken over by the Turner & Dahnken circuit.  

 

 

 

A c.1908 photo is from the San Francisco Public Library collection. The same image appears in an article about the Gasteam Radiators heating the building in the March, 1911 Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine:

 

 

 

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this from his collection.

 

Another version of one of the interior photos seen in the article. It's from the Jack Tillmany collection. Note the typo on the circuit operating the theatre at the time. It should be Turner & Dahnken.

 

 

From very early in its existence, the Globe had trouble with creditors and the authorities. In addition to unpaid construction bills, the July 25, 1907 Call noted in this story spotted by Art Siegel via the California Digital Newspaper Collection that the police tried to close it early in its tenure for fire ordinance violations.

Attractions at the Globe in a December 15, 1907 ad spotted by Art Siegel in The Examiner.

 

 

A March 8, 1908 ad spotted by Art Siegel in the Chronicle.

The theatre got some coverage in "Many 5 Cent Firetraps," a page 37 story in the September 3, 1911 issue of the San Francisco Call. The paper had been doing an investigation into theatres with blocked or poorly lit exits, inadequate aisle lighting, and non-fireproof construction in violation of city codes. The comments about the Globe:

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding the article. The Call's investigation found that the Grand (earlier called the Mission) and the People's Theatre were two of the Mission district theatres found in compliance with regulations. They had many complaints about the Wigwam. 

 

 

The Call's crusade continued in their September 4, 1911 issue. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating "Dangers in Picture Shows - Law Breakers Exposed To Prevent Tragedy," the article in that issue.

 

 

This photo spread appeared with the Call's September 4 story to illustrate "Places where moving pictures are shown and that do not comply with the law." Photos 1 and 2 are of the Wigwam Theatre in the Mission, 3 is of the Globe, and 4 is of the Class A/Temple Theatre on Fillmore.  

 

 

A closer look at the Call's photo of the Globe. Note the stage loading doors on the right. The caption: "The Globe theater in Mission street between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets. It has six exits but yesterday five of them were found barred." 

The Globe as shown in the 1914 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, found by Art Siegel in the Library of  Congress archive. By this time it was noted as "Closed, Building condemned by Board of Public Works." They described the building's construction as "Concrete filled between studding."

 

Along with an unnamed Chinatown theatre, the Lyceum got quite a writeup as part of the Call's September 4, 1911 report:

 

"The Globe is a large, roomy place and would be easy to get out of." Thanks, Art! 

 

 

A 1913 Globe flyer from the Jack Tillmany collection. This version of "The Prisoner of Zenda" was a February release. Turner & Dahnken was running the house.

 

Closing: 1913. Jack Tillmany notes: "It continued to operate until mid-1913 when it was declared 'unsafe' and sat vacant for a couple of years." 

In June 1914 the Chronicle reported that over $10,000 of work had been contracted with a structural iron works, but that work was never done. 

The Chronicle reported in May 1915 on the unfortunate state of the building:

Status: It was demolished. Jack Tillmany comments: "In June 1915 it was declared a 'nuisance' by the Board of Works and ordered torn down."  

 

In early January 1916 it was still standing (though falling apart), according to a report in The Call, as spotted by Art Siegel:

The Chronicle's January 1916 coverage added details about the uncompleted remodeling:

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.

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