The Chutes / Lyric / American Theatre

1226 Fillmore St. | map |

Opened: The first incarnation was as the Chutes Vaudeville Theatre, opening December 31, 1909 as part of the third and final version of Chutes Park. The theatre originally was on Eddy St., running parallel to the street and about a half block back from Fillmore. The stagehouse end of the building pointed west toward Fillmore. The 1960s photo by Jack Tillmany appears on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre.

The park was an operation run by Irving Ackerman. His father Charles, who had been the operator of the two previous Chutes locations, had died in January 1909. Both of the previous Chutes locations had big theatres. The first had been in the Haight, opening November 2, 1895 and closing March 16, 1902. See the Chutes Theatre page for a few photos. The second location on Fulton at 10th Ave. opened May 1, 1902 and ran until early January 1909. See the page on the Chutes/Orpheum for some photos of both the big house as well as a nickelodeon there. 

Architect: E. P. Antonovich designed this third Chutes Theatre. When it was rebuilt in 1915 James Rupert Miller did the plans. Reid Bros. did a remodel in 1920. See images from the original plans that are in the Gary Parks collection down at the bottom of the page.

Seating: The original capacity was 1,142 with 750 on the main floor and 392 in the balcony, according to the 1909 plans in the collection of Gary Parks. 1,100 was a number used when the theatre was being run by Ackerman and Harris in 1915, after the theatre had been moved and renovated. The 1941 Film Daily Yearbook gave a capacity of 1,210.  John Freeman comments: 

"It initially was a vaudeville venue, occasionally showing a reel of a major boxing match or a visiting dignitary. The most famous performer was an unknown outside of New York, Sophie Tucker. She had been blackballed by Flo Ziegfeld, probably for standing her ground against his arrogance, came west and got her break with Irving Ackerman, who knew all the booking agents west of Chicago.

"Sophie had two one-week runs at the Chutes Theatre August 7 -13 and September 18 - 24 in 1910 to packed houses after open night. Her signature song was 'The Dance of the Grizzly Bear,' with the opening phrase 'Out in San Francisco, where the weather’s fair, They have a dance out there, they call the Grizzly Bear...' The audiences went wild, singing along, raising their arms, making bear claws with their fingers. Sophie gained the brash confidence at the booking at the Chutes Theatre that would propel the rest of her career."

Stage: The proscenium was 32' wide with a stage depth of 22' from the asbestos smoke pocket to the face of the back wall columns. Dressing rooms were on three levels off right with restrooms for performers off left. It was of course a hemp house. The flyfloor was stage left.

Coney Island Park: Beginning in 1907 the site had an earlier version of the park called the Coney Island  Park that encompassed a full block bounded by Fillmore St., Turk St., Eddy St. and Webster St. John Freeman discusses it:

"A group of investors constructed an all-wood building on the east side of Fillmore Street, between Turk and Eddy, opening November 23, 1907. The idea was to appeal to the entertainment needs of the public, in a more central location than the Chutes Park then operating at Fulton and 10th. The Coney Island was not an owner-managed operation.

"It was operated more like a series of individual entrepreneurs. It was advertised as 'Continuous Circus Performances.' The front of the three-story building had a couple of while-you-wait photo concessions on the ground floor, a well respected restaurant that had been burned out of downtown, and the like. The grounds had no rides, but a open court, where patrons wandered around to see jugglers, sword swallowers, magicians, acrobats, with a simple stage to watch a short melodrama."

Reopening as the New Chutes: The park was taken over by Irving Ackerman. Chutes had not done well at the Fulton location so a move was in order. John Freeman has the story:

"With dad gone it kind of freed up Irving to make the jump from 10th and Fulton to Fillmore street. He made a deal to lease the Coney Island Park, move the Chutes down to Fillmore St. and add the attractions from the previous Chutes: the Scenic Railway (primitive roller coaster that was elevated to run around the periphery of the site), the 'shoot-the-chutes' water slide, the circle swing, carousel, while-you-wait photo studio, and a few new amusements. They opened on Bastille Day, July 14, 1909, but without a theatre. The new rules for theater construction called for Class A - steel and concrete, with proper safe exits to a wide alley or side street and would take time to construct.

"Because the Coney Island Park was basically the Fillmore St. facade, Ackerman added a second side entrance on Turk, and a building that contained Abe Lipman’s photo concession, I think a shooting gallery, and the entrance to the elevated Scenic Railway all facing the center. That left the north side, along Eddy Street available for construction of a Class A theatre building. Chutes Park occupied the entire block, but the front building was multi-use with some tenants from the Coney Island days remaining while the Chutes held the lease. There was a corner saloon in the building at Turk that remained. The New Chutes may have only had control of the grounds, while the contract was structured so the revenue from the Fillmore frontage building went to the Coney Island investors."

Other theatres on the block: In addition to the main theatre there was also a little film theatre on the northwest corner of the park called the Star Theatre, at 1250 Fillmore St. The Museé Theatre at 1208 Fillmore was a nickelodeon that had opened around 1907. The Fillmore side of the park also featured several other nickelodeons. See the theatre list by address for what data there is.

The 1911 fire: Most of Chutes Park burned in May 29, 1911 after a fire started in a restaurant. John Freeman comments: 

"The fire started in the building fronting on Fillmore and essentially destroyed much of the Chutes amusements, but didn’t spread to either the south side of the park away from Fillmore or affect the fireproof theatre building. Ackerman spent about two years fighting for restitution because of the wording of the Coney Island lease and the power of a fire insurance company. He had graduated from Stanford, taken legal training at Harvard, and had been admitted to the California Bar."

 

A view of the neighborhood from the 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it in the Library of Congress collection. Fillmore St. runs up the middle with the Chutes Park block in the lower right. That's the Orpheum/Garrick and the Princess Theatre in the upper left with Ellis St. across the top. The Premium Theatre is shown as "Moving Pictures" at the northwest corner of Fillmore and Eddy. 

 

A closer look at the Chutes block from the 1913 Sanborn map. On the left along Fillmore the blue structure is the new reinforced concrete retail building constructed to replace the 1907 structure that had burned. Most of the rest of the block is vacant after demolition of the ruins. That's Eddy St. across the top with the original Chutes Theatre location shown in pink. That's Turk St. along the bottom and Webster St. on the right. Thanks, Art!

Jack it up, rotate it, and slide it over: After a rebuild, the theatre reopened September 4, 1915 as the Lyric Theatre with a Fillmore St. entrance. This new entrance was on the east side of the street between Turk and Eddy. At the time of its reopening it was a film and vaudeville house operated by Ackerman and Harris. That firm was a teaming up of Irving Ackerman with Simon (Sam) Harris. The firm became major vaudeville booking agents west of Chicago, as well as partners in owning various vaudeville and film theaters in the Bay Area. 

The beginning of the partnership is mentioned in "Harris Cites Old Film Days," an article by George Fischer in the December 23, 1928 issue of the Examiner:

"...At that time in the theater, talent was scarce. The Chutes, then located in Fillmore street and owned by Irving Ackerman, operated a show, and for the benefit of both parties, Harris conceived the idea of interchanging talent. Thus the partnership which has existed ever since was begun...

Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the article. The full text of the story is reproduced down near the bottom of the page about the Wigwam Theatre, an earlier Harris venture in the Mission district.

In addition to their own houses, A&H was appointed "western representatives" for Marcus Loew and as such operated the Hippodrome for him, a house later known as the Union Square, as well as the Warfield. Ackerman had also been involved in film production as one of the founders and a vice-President at Columbia Pictures. He was good friends with Sid Grauman and evidently was evidently an investor in Grauman’s 1918 Million Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles.

Cinema Treasures researcher Joe Vogel found a mention about the relocation project in the February 17, 1915 issue of Building and Engineering News:

"THEATRE ALTERATION — Concrete and steel. Cost not stated. San Francisco. Architect, J. R. Miller, Lick Bldg., S. F. Owners, Realty and Rebuilding Co. The old Chutes Theatre will be moved to the rear of the present stores on Fillmore street between Turk and Eddy streets and a new entrance and other alterations made to conform with the law. Plans are complete and work will be started shortly."

 

 

An item in a 1915 Motion Picture News issue mentions the work. 

A news item about the theatre's reopening. Thanks to Jack Tilllmany for locating it. 

Too many theatres? A comment Jack Tillmany found in a September 1915 issue of Variety.

 

The theatre was mentioned as getting "turned around" on page 402 of the July 15, 1916 Moving Picture World. The page is on Google Books. The magazine's comment:

 

"The Lyric theater on Fillmore street, between Turk and Eddy, was erected several years ago, but only recently was devoted to moving pictures. This house was formerly a part of the Chutes and after that amusement enterprise went out of business was dark for a long time. It was recently turned around at a heavy expense and an entrance installed from Fillmore. It has a seating capacity of 1,100 and is conducted by Ackerman & Harris, under the management of Charles Cole." 

 In the 1916 city directory the Lyric has an address of 1230 Fillmore. In 1920 they give it a 1226 address. The Lyric's last city directory listing was 1924 and last telephone directory listing was November 1924.

In the May 1925 telephone directory this location was listed as the New Progress Theatre. The Progress Theatre had closed that month so perhaps that identity moved here briefly. The Progress building at 1525 Fillmore survives, now a restaurant.  

In the November 1925 telephone directory it's listed as the American Theatre. The Examiner, also calling it the American, reported a burglary in November 1925.

 

The relocated theatre is shown in this detail from plate 346 of the 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Thanks to Aaron Goldstein for finding the map on the Library of Congress website. Fillmore St. is at the bottom of the image, Eddy is on the left and Turk St. on the right. 

 

 

 

A wider look at the neighborhood from the 1950 Sanborn map. Fillmore is running horizontally across the center with the American in the upper right. In the block on the lower left note the two auditoria of the New Fillmore Theatre sprawled along Eddy St. with the entrance (in blue) on Fillmore St. And on the far left on Ellis St. it's the Orpheum/Garrick Theatre in pink (shown here as a bowling alley) and the Princess/Ellis Theatre, shown in blue.  

 
Closing: The American closed in 1959 with Nasser Bros. as the final operators. Later the building was used as a church and saw a bit of legit use for shows by Black Arts West.

 

 

 

An image showing the American's location on the block after the 1915 move. It's from a digital model of the block by Aaron Goldstein. His great-grandfather operated a hat store adjacent to the theatre from the 1940s into the 1960s. Thanks, Aaron!

Status: It was demolished c.1970, like almost everything else of interest in the Fillmore.


Interior views:

A 1943 proscenium photo by Ted Newman that's in the Jack Tillmany collection. A smaller version of it is on the San Francisco Public Library website.

The rear of the auditorium in 1943. Check out those round portholes. The Ted Newman photo is in the Jack Tillmany collection. A smaller version of it is on the San Francisco Public Library website.


More exterior views:

An August 1909 view looking north on Fillmore with Turk at the first intersection. The main entrance to Chutes Park is in the middle of the block. The photo from the Jack Tillmany collection appears on a Cinema Tour page about the Chutes Theatre.

A wider version of the 1909 photo. This one appears on a page devoted to the three Chutes locations on the site Playland at the Beach. There's also a version in the San Francisco Public Library collection.

A closer c.1909 look across the facade of the Coney Island Park building. Thanks to John Freeman for sharing the photo from his collection. The entrance into the park is that arched opening behind the second telephone pole. Note the roof sign for the Louvre, a popular German restaurant on the corner of Fillmore and Eddy. John reports that they didn't stay in the building during the Chutes days as they had returned downtown.

A 1909 or 1910 view of the house left side of the new theatre. The photo appears on the Open SF History Project website. They also have another version of the photo cropped in a bit horizontally.

The corner of Fillmore and Turk after the May 29, 1911 fire. It's a photo in the San Francisco Public Library collection.

A closer look at the facade from the John Freeman collection. Note the sign for the Museé Theatre in the second storefront at 1208 Fillmore. It had opened around 1907. Up at the far end of the block an arched opening is visible that had been the Star Theatre at 1250 Fillmore. The stagehouse of the Chutes Theatre is visible in the distance.

A view northeast across the ruined park toward the rear of the theatre on Eddy St. The photo appears on a page devoted to the three Chutes locations on the site Playland at the Beach.

Another look across Chutes Park after the 1911 fire, but this time northwest toward the back of the Garrick and Princess Theatres on Ellis St. just west of Fillmore. That chunk of building on the far right is the stagehouse of the Chutes Theatre. It's a San Francisco Public Library photo.

A 1911 photo looking west from Webster St. toward the burned end of the park. On the right it's the Chutes Theatre. The photo by A. Lipman appears on the Open SF History Project website.

A partial view of the side of the theatre after the fire. Note the dressing room windows. It's a photo by A. Lipman from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection appearing on the Open SF History Project website.

 

A c.1915 photo looking north on Fillmore. The rebuilt and re-oriented theatre, then called the Lyric, has its arched entrance up in the middle of the block. It's a photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.

 

 

A 1928 look north from Turk St. with the American on the right and the New Fillmore Theatre on the left down in the block beyond Eddy St. Many thanks to Marcus for sharing this photo he acquired at an estate sale. It had been marked up, evidently for use in securing a loan. The building on the left was designated "security offered." 

 

 

A detail of the theatre from the previous photo. "A Man's Past" with Conrad Veidt and Barbara Bedford was an October 1927 release. Jack Tillmany notes that it was playing the American in May 1928.

 

 

A closer look at the signage in 1928. Thanks, Marcus!

A 1943 photo by Ted Newman that's in the Jack Tillmany collection. A smaller version is on the San Francisco Public Library website.

A 1947 photo by an unknown photographer from the Open SF History Project. 

A July 1948 photo by Waldemar Sievers appearing the Open SF History Project website. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for determining the correct date.

A 1956 photo from the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments: "That scene says it all. I guess they didn't want to spell out HELL'S on the marquee, because it might offend somebody picking up their candles, incense and/or hats next door. Lots of parking space."

A 1964 photo of the churched theatre by Alan J. Canterbury from the San Francisco Public Library collection.

A 1967 photo by Michael Ochs via Getty Images. Thanks to David Zornig for posting it on Cinema Treasures.

A c.1968 photo taken by Tom Gray from the Jack Tillmany collection appearing on the Open SF History Project website.


Images from the original plans in the Gary Parks collection:

A title block giving us the name of the architect. 

A "Front Elevation." Meaning this would be the side of the building you would see if you were in the park facing north. It's the house left side of the building. Note the windows on the stagehouse for the three levels of dressing rooms. Presumably that curving addition in red from the top of the stagehouse wasn't a waterfall but merely an indication that a ladder was needed there.

In the lower right note the doors at ground level. This was the glamorous main entrance. There was no lobby. Well, the whole park was sort of an outdoor lobby. Through the doors you were in a tiny entrance vestibule and then into the open standee area at the back of the main floor.

A cornice detail. 

The "End Elevation." We're looking toward the back of the main floor -- with no doors on this side. The main entrance was around the corner to the left. Eddy street was off to the right. The higher structure in the drawing is the front wall of the stagehouse.

A "Side Elevation," meaning the side of the building you'd see from Eddy St. The fencing for this side of the park was just a few feet this side of the fire escapes. Later the whole building was jacked up and moved closer to Fillmore St. with a new entrance and lobby created there.

The stagehouse windows we see half-way up were at flyfloor level. That little structure with the three windows at ground level held three restrooms. One public ladies room and the men's and ladies rooms for performers. The public men's room? None in this building evidently. You had to use one of the restrooms out in the park.

A "Longitudinal Section" showing the stage, pit, flyfloor stage left and the slope of the two levels of seating. Sorry, there was no basement to explore.

A fine look at the proscenium. Gary comments: "It’s interesting to compare the 1943 Ted Newman proscenium photo with the blueprints. Basically the remodel kept the existing Corinthian pilasters, and added a lot of restrained and tasteful gilded plaster detailing on all the existing very plain surfaces…and added a mercifully-enlarged booth!"

A detail of the proscenium. 

A main floor plan. In red it's noted that the capacity was 750 on this level. In the lower right note the entrance vestibule. Backstage we see dressing rooms off right and a dotted area near the proscenium that's labeled "Entrance To Orchestra Pit." The toilet area is offstage left, including the public ladies room accessed via a door under the box. The fencing on the Eddy St. side of the park has been added in red at the top of the plan.

A balcony plan. Gary calls our attention to the very small (and off-center) projection booth. It was not intended just for a follow spot. The plans read "Operating Room Motion Pictures." Penciled in red is the balcony capacity: 392. Thanks, Gary!

More information: See the pages for the Museé Theatre at 1208 Fillmore and the Star Theatre at 1250 Fillmore.

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. 

Cinema Treasures and Cinema Tour have pages on the American. Cinema Tour also has a page on the Chutes Theatre.

The Open SF History Project has many photos of this Chutes location in their collection.  Also see the 2020 article on the site by Arnold Woods: "Fillmore Chutes: A Closer Look."

The Playland at the Beach website also has lots of information about the three Chutes locations. The San Francisco Public Library has a page about the Chutes.

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