Also see: Geary / Toni Rembe Theatre - interior views
Opening: January 10, 1910 as the Columbia Theatre under the ownership of Jake Gottlob and Melville Marx. It's been the home of American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) since the 60s. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for his 2016 photo.
Website: www.act-sf.org
This was a replacement for the earlier Columbia Theatre on Powell St. lost in 1906. In June 1906 Gottlob and Marx had announced a New Columbia Theatre to be built at Van Ness and Geary, a project that never happened. From 1907 until 1910 they did their shows at the Van Ness Theatre, Van Ness and Grove.
Architects: Walter Bliss and William Faville. Two members of the firm were sent to Europe to study the best examples of theatre architecture. The reported cost of the project was $850,000. The facade's polyxchrome terracotta is by Gladding, McBean & Co.
A rendering for the new theatre from the April 21, 1909 issue of The American Architect. It's available as a print from St. Croix Architecture.
A page of interior details appearing as Plate 159 in the December 1910 issue of The Brickbuilder.
Thanks to Glenn Koch for sharing this main floor seating chart from a copy of the 1915 edition of the San Francisco Blue Book that's in his collection.
A 1915 chart of the 1st balcony seating. Thanks, Glenn! Sorry, the book didn't give us one for the 2nd balcony. A diagram of the exits for all three seating levels was included in the 1910 program for "The Chorus Lady." It's reproduced down at the bottom of the page.
Stage Specifications:
Proscenium: 36' wide x 32' 5" high
Stage depth: 38' 6" from smoke pocket to last usable lineset.
Apron: 4' 6" from smoke pocket to the lip.
Stage wall-to-wall: 77'
House curtain: operates as either guillotine or traveler from stage right.
Original rigging system: Hemp
Current rigging system: Single-purchase counterweight, operating stage right at stage level.
Number of linesets: 48, with 44' long battens
Weight available: 48,000 lbs
Flyfloor: Stage right at 24'
Grid height: 72'
Stage: trappable and rakeable
Pit: 7'3" below stage level - no lift
Loading: Upstage right to Mason St.
Dressing rooms: 4 small, 2 chorus, all with elevator access.
Road Power: 3 - 400A 3 phase for dimmers, 1 400 A at loading dock, 1 125A for sound + more
Much of the stage data comes from the 1999 edition of "Stage Specs, A Technical Guide to Theatres," published by the League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. Thanks to Mike Hume for making it available.
The Geary originally had a scene shop at the paint bridge level. Ralph Funicello comments: "The flats would be built in the shop, then moved to the paint frame to be painted, then lowered to the stage."
"Devoted to the leading
dramatic and musical attractions." This cover for the September 1910 program for "The Chorus Lady" starring Rose Stahr is from the collection of Jon Perdue. Thanks to Jon for posting it on the BAHT Facebook page. Five interior pages from the program are reproduced at the bottom of the page.
An inside page from the May 1915 program. One of the ads is promoting the upcoming engagement of John Drew in "Rosemary," beginning May 17. Thanks, Glenn!
The movie page from the October 22, 1916 issue of the Chronicle, which
included an ad for D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance" at the Geary. Thanks to
William David French Jr. for digging the page out of the Chronicle
archives for a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
The name was changed to the Wilkes Theatre with a sale in 1924 to Thomas Wilkes. For a time he and his brother were also running the Alcazar. They also operated theatres in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Thanks to Glenn Koch for spotting this "White Cargo" postcard on eBay.
A reissue of "Birth of a Nation" played the Geary in September 1930. It was perhaps the first sound film to play the theatre. The reissue had a recorded track of music and effects. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for finding the photo for a post on the BAHT Facebook page. It was part of an ad for the film in a 1930 issue of Moving Picture News.
"Journey's End" (a talkie with an orchestra on hand as well) played in 1931.
The front of the program for "Bad Girl" in 1931. Thanks to Rick Bellamy for sharing this item from his collection as a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
A production of the Oscar Straus operetta "The Chocolate Soldier" by the Civic Light Opera Company is discussed in a page seven article in the November 28, 1931 Chronicle. Evidently there was no connection between this company and the later Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera productions at the Curran. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding the article on Newsbank.
Jack Tillmany notes that MGM's film "The Great Ziegfeld" had its west coast premiere at the Geary on April 11, 1936. It was a reserved seat engagement with matinee seats at 50 cents and 75 cents with "a few at $1." Evening screenings were priced at 50 cents, 75 cents, $1 and "a few at $1.50." Jack comments:
The cover of the program for "The Cocktail Bar," an opera comique by Lloyd Chase, c.1937. It's on Calisphere from the collection of the Museum of Performance & Design Performing Arts Library.
Walt Disney's "Fantasia" had its San Francisco premiere in full roadshow "Fantasound" at the Geary in 1941. Thanks to Lou DiCrescenzo for sharing this Brenkert ad as a post on the Facebook page 35mm Cinema Projector Technology.
The Howard Hughes production "Outlaw" had its world premiere engagement at the Geary in 1943. It got a four week run and then moved to the Tivoli. The article appeared in the February 5, 1943 Chronicle.
Marlene Dietrich did a week of shows in 1960. Thanks to Lee Brenkman for sharing these pages, as well as other ads from the program, on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page.
A poster for the 1969 run of "Hair" from the website of the Chisholm Larsson Gallery. The show reopened in 1970 at the Orpheum.
Closing in 1989: The theatre suffered major damage during the 1989 earthquake. The ante-proscenium lighting rig ended up on the main floor, along with much of the plaster in the sounding board area. The L.A. Times article about the 1996 reopening commented: "When the quake struck on Oct. 17, 1989, it was just after 5 p.m., well before curtain time for George Coates' 'Right Mind.' 'God was on our side,' recalls longtime ACT actor William Paterson. 'Three hours later it would have been a real disaster.'"
The company took up temporary residence at the renamed Stage Door Theatre (which had just closed as the Regency III) and at the Marines Memorial Theatre for their shows during the seven year fundraising and rebuilding process. In addition to rebuilding the plasterwork in front of the proscenium, other work included expanded restroom facilities, modernizing the lobby areas, and adding elevators backstage and for the lobbies.
The 1996 reopening: The L.A. Times covered the 1996 opening with their article "Geary Theater Stages Comeback after 1989 Quake." Thanks to William David French, Jr. for spotting it.
The building had been officially known as the American Conservatory Theatre since 2006 but now with ACT in the Strand Theatre as well, they started calling this one the Geary again to differentiate it.
In September 2022 it was renamed the Toni Rembe Theatre in honor of Bay Area philanthropist Toni Rembe. There had been a $35 million donation by an anonymous donor. The news was announced in a September 19 post on the A.C.T. Facebook page.
A March 20, 1909 photo from the personal collection of Glenn Koch. Many thanks to Glenn for sharing this photo and others from his collection appearing on the page.
A May or June 1909 photo. We're looking at the house left side of the building. Note the exit stairs from the two balconies. The photo, from the ACT archives, appears on the ACT historical timeline page.
A June 1909 photo from the Glenn Koch collection. The photographer was standing where the Curran Theatre is now. Note the slope of the framing for the two balconies.
A September 4, 1909 photo from the Glenn Koch collection. Terracotta is being installed on the facade.
Nearly ready to go at the end of 1909. It's a Chronicle photo appearing with "The big screen, no not your TV: over 100 years of San Francisco Theaters," a March 2016 SF Gate photo portfolio.
A drawing of the theatre that appeared in a 1909 publication located by Bob Ristelhueber. Thanks, Bob, for the post on the BAHT Facebook page.
A photo taken during the September 1930 revival run of "Birth of a Nation." This sound version had a synchronized track of music and effects. The photo from the ACT collection is one that's on display in the lobby on the 1st balcony level.
An October 1930 view with the theatre offering Dorothy Burgess in "The Bird of Flame." Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the photo as a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
It's December 1933 and the Curran is all decked out for "Sailor Beware." The Geary appears to be dark. It's a photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. There's also a smaller version with different cropping on the San Francisco Public Library website.
"Fantasia," got the roadshow treatment in 1941. The Geary was the only theater within 400 miles of San Francisco to present the film and one of only 14 in the country to show it in Disney's revolutionary stereo process called "Fantasound." Walt and his wife attended. It's an uncredited photo in the San Francisco Public Library collection.
"The Only Girl" is at the Geary and "Suds In Your Eye" at the Curran in November 1945. It's a photo by an unknown photographer appearing on the Open SF History Project website. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for spotting it in the collection.
A 1958 view west with some unidentifiable show at the Geary. "The Music Man" is at the Curran, a show that debuted on Broadway in 1957 and opened in San Francisco with Forrest Tucker on October 28, 1958. The photo appeared on the Facebook page Vintage San Francisco to plug a 2015 exhibit of found images of the city at Glass Key Photo in the Haight.
A fine 1963 view with the Civic Light Opera production of "How To Succeed..." at the Curran. It's a shot from 4x5 Gallery that appeared on the Facebook page Vintage San Francisco. Lily Castello also had it on the San Francisco Remembered page.
A November 29, 1988 Chronicle photo appearing with "The big screen, no not your TV: over 100 years of San Francisco Theaters," a March 2016 SF Gate photo portfolio.
A view from the Theatre Historical Society on Flickr. It's in an album of 245 views taken at the organization's 2008 Bay Area conclave.
A 2013 Google shot with Mason St. on the left. The brick building down Mason toward the parking garage is the dressing room wing of the theatre.
Looking west toward the Geary with the Curran Theatre (1922) beyond. That's Mason Street at the left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2015
A facade detail. Photo: BW Chicago on Flickr - 2008
The center entrance. Photo: Andra Young - San Francisco Remembered Facebook page - 2016
Another entrance view. Photo: BW Chicago on Flickr - 2008
A look upward. Photo: Andra Young - San Francisco Remembered Facebook page - 2016
Thanks, Jon!
Articles about the opening that appeared in the Examiner on January 11, 1910:
From the January 22, 1910 issue of the Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas:
More information: Wikipedia has an article on ACT.
Other Columbia Theatres: See the page on the pre-1906 Columbia Theatre on Powell St. Just to keep it fun, the Tivoli Theatre at 70 Eddy St. was called the Columbia from 1924 to 1930. The 1909 vintage Orpheum Theatre at 147 O'Farrell St. was renamed the Columbia in 1930. It kept that name until its demolition in 1937.
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