Opened: November 9, 1907 as a nickelodeon and penny arcade. The building is on the northeast corner of Clement St.and 6th Ave. The Palm is listed in Henry's 1907-08 Theatrical Guide with a Mr. J. Davega listed as manager. The publication is on Google Books.
Seating: 300
The Palm's construction got a mention in the October 25, 1907 issue of the the Richmond Banner. Thanks to the John Freeman for finding it.
John reports about the Palm on a Western Neighborhoods Project page: "The first feature was a version of the 'Passion Play.' Davega had opened the nearby Elite Theatre on June 22, 1907, but soon had to close down for failing the safety requirements of providing two exits."
A November 29, 1907 item from the Richmond Banner giving a rave revue of Davega's presentation of "Ali Baba." Thanks to John Freeman for the find.
A January 10, 1908 ad from the Richmond Banner located by John Freeman.
John adds: "In October 1909 M. Marsh took over the Palm, enlarging and remodeling the theatre, and bringing in new 'opera' style seating. As motion pictures grew in popularity, the Palm survived the 1911 erection of the grander Richmond Theater (later called the Lincoln) half a block south on Sixth Avenue..."
The Palm's other nearby competition was Fisher's Theatre, a block farther west on Clement. It had also opened in 1907.
Closed: 1918. John Freeman notes: "It was still in operation in September 1918, but probably closed soon after because the Coliseum was under construction, and opened in November 1918."
After closing as a theatre, the building was used by the Modesto Poultry Market from 1940s into the 1960s
Status: The remodeled building is still there with East West Bank as the current tenant. John Freeman comments: "How much of the original building remained when they remodeled it is hard to say, but there is a lot easier process to getting a permit if you leave some part of the exiting building, than to completely demolish and start anew."
The ad for the big reopening under new management. Thanks to John Freeman for finding it in the October 22, 1909 issue of the Richmond Banner.
In this October 20, 1909 United Railroads photo from the Jack Tillmany collection the theatre is getting a bit of a remodel. A smaller version of the photo can be seen on the San Francisco Public Library website.
A detail from the previous photo. A version of this can be seen the Western Neighborhoods Project page about the Palm.
The remodeled theatre building on the northeast corner of 6th and Clement. Photo: Google Maps - 2016
An aerial view of the Palm building. Photo: Google Maps - 2018
More information: See the Western Neighborhoods Project page about the Palm. Also on the WNP site is "Streetwise: Palaces of the Past" where Woody LaBounty discusses the Palm and other theatres in the neighborhood.
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.
There's a page about the Palm on Cinema Treasures.
| back to top | San Francisco Theatres: by address and neighborhood | alphabetical list | list by architect | pre-1906 theatre list | home |
No comments:
Post a Comment