119 O'Farrell St. |
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Opened: June 30, 1887 by Gustav Walter. This was the first house in what eventually became the Orpheum circuit. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this image of the opening night "programme" from his collection.
The 119 O'Farrell address appears in the 1905 city directory. The 1902
American Almanac (on Google Books) shows a 115 address.
Seating: It was listed as 2,500 in a theatre list in the 1902 American Almanac.
Gustav Walter gets a mention on a Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco page. It's a quote from "San Francisco Theatrical Memories," a 1925 work by James Madison:
"The Orpheum Circuit of today is an evolution of the managerial
acumen of Gustav Walter, who came to San Francisco in the seventies and
successfully conducted the Fountain at Sutter and Kearny, the
Vienna Gardens at Sutter and Stockton and the
Wigwam, where the City of Paris
now stands. At this latter house he made
enough money to build the O’Farrell Street Orpheum, which opened in
1887 with Rosner’s Hungarian Orchestra and a big Variety bill."
A 1914 pamphlet also noted that Walter, before opening the Orpheum, was running the Germania Gardens in the Mission.
"First Class Concert & Beer Hall." The new theatre is seen in on page 15 of volume 1 of the 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Note the wrap-around balcony. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this in the Library of Congress collection. On their site they have it as image 32. Stockton St. is on the right.
A main floor seating chart that appeared in the 1889
San Francisco Blue Book. The Theatre Diagrams section of the book covered seven theatres. It's on Internet Archive. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for finding the charts for a post on the
BAHT Facebook page.
The balcony seating chart from the 1889 San Francisco Blue Book.
On the "Through the Opera Glass" page of theatre news in the
November 16, 1890 SF Call, Art Siegel located this item via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. The theatre needed a few upgrades:
"THE ORPHEUM OPERA HOUSE. All the former objectionable features are to be removed, and it is intended by the management to run the house strictly in accordance with the rules of first-class theaters. Smoking and drinking will be positively prohibited in the auditorium, and every effort will be made in regard to the comfort of patrons, the mounting of the operas, and in every way to make the Orpheum Opera House a permanent home for the production of grand opera in first-class style, and by a company unequaled in America, at prices which are as yet unheard of in an undertaking of this kind, viz., $1, 75, 50 and 25 cents."
From beer hall to opera house. An ad for the "Il Trovatore" production of the Hess Grand Opera Co. that was spotted by Art, also in the November 16, 1890 SF Call.
An interesting announcement was located by Art Siegel in the April
22, 1894 Chronicle. The Orpheum circuit took over booking the Grove Street Theatre, on Grove between Polk and Van Ness, and started promoting vaudeville shows there:
"The
Orpheum will offer an entirely new bill of variety work for this week.
The management have extended their enterprise and will run a variety
entertainment at the Grove-street Theater in conjunction with that at
the Orpheum, commencing April 30th."
The Grove-street was
described as an "attachment" to the Orpheum in this April 29, 1894
Chronicle item:
"The
Orpheum has the popular Georgia Minstrels on the bill for this week.
This house is now fairly established as the music hall of the city. Its
new attachment, the Grove-street Theater, will be opened to-morrow night
with a variety entertainment."
"Crowded to the doors." The circuit's interest in running the Grove Street didn't last long. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this May 1, 1894 Chronicle ad. He
notes that Orpheum ran a June 11, 1894 ad for a Grove Street show
called "A German Soldier" but later ads didn't include the theatre.
The entrance in 1896. It's a photo from the Jack Tillmany collection.
An ad from the December 3, 1896 Examiner. Thanks to Mark Reed for including this on a thread about female impersonator Everett Stuart on
the
San Francisco History to the 1920s Facebook page. Stuart had also played the Orpheum in 1895. He had been part of the minstrel troupe that opened the
Bijou Theatre on Market in 1888 and played the
Columbia in a production of "1492" in 1898.
The cover of the 1897 10th anniversary program. It's on
Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library.
Noted violinist Edouard Remenyi died onstage in the middle of a performance on May 15, 1898. He's discussed, along with the fate of later musicians using the same bow, in Mark Pope's nine minute documentary "
Gold Violin: Bow of Death."
A plan was hatched in 1898 to remodel the theatre for an enlarged auditorium that would seat 6,000 and be oriented 45 degrees from the initial layout. Peter Field did the research:
"They planned to expand an additional 40 feet into a saloon next door (on the east side of the lot) called Three-Fingered Jack's. It also would have turned its orientation 45 degrees counter clockwise from its original entrance on the north side of the lot and its original stage on the south side, to a new entrance on the northwest corner and a new stage on the southeast corner. For some time, the circuit also ran an additional venue, called the Orpheum Annex, apparently located on the west side of the lot, that offered after-theatre drinks, food, and shows, all in a smaller venue."
"Will Take Up More Room" was the curious headline for this article about the plans that Peter located on page 7 in the
April 12, 1898 San Francisco Call. It's on the California Digital Newspaper Collection website.
The proposed reconstruction didn't happen. One complication was that Orpheum circuit founder Gustav Walter died from appendicitis on May 9, 1898, just days after the Call published his plans to remodel the theatre. Peter Field notes that the May 10 San Francisco Call titled their page 9 story "He Founded The Orpheum," the May 10 Sacramento Union's obituary was on page 4 and headed "The Late Gustav Walter." The May 15 Los Angeles Herald story about his death appeared on page 13. Peter adds:
"Glancing over the titles of the articles about the aftermath among the relatives, the probate of his estate was apparently messy, with competing claims."
The capacity was listed as 2,500 in this 1898 list. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for finding it for a post on the
BAHT Facebook page. It's also listed as 2,500 in the 1902
American Almanac.
A main floor seating chart from the 1900 edition of the San Francisco
Bluebook. Although they didn't do the big remodel that Walter planned in 1898, it appears they rebuilt the box area and got rid of a few
columns. Thanks to Glenn Koch for sharing this image from a copy of the
book that's in his collection.
A 1901 view looking toward Market. The Orpheum
Theatre is on the right with its awning sticking out to the edge of the sidewalk. On the left it's Fischer's Theatre
with the Alcazar just beyond. Thanks
to Jack Tillmany for the photo from his collection.
The Orpheum and the other theatres on O'Farrell, Fischer's and the Alcazar, are seen on this detail from a 1903 map.
Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for finding the map for a post on the BAHT Facebook page.
The Orpheum is seen in this detail from Volume 1, pages 35-36 of the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlas. It appears on the website of the David Rumsay Historical Map Collection. Also see a discussion page on
the site's blog with links to various pages of the six volume
publication.
Thanks to Glenn Koch for this 1905 or 1906 photo, one that appeared in an October 1906
souvenir program in his collection for the opening of the Colonial Theatre, a house
later known as the
President.
It was part of a portfolio honoring theatres lost in the fire and
earthquake plus a few of the hasty replacements. See Glenn's post on the
BAHT Facebook page for 26 more images from the program. Note the sign describing the offerings as "Modern Vaudeville."
A shot of about the same vintage as the previous photo but with different posters in front. Note the nice view of the statue on the roof above the entrance. Thanks to Glenn Koch for sharing this one from his collection. It was a post on the BAHT Facebook page. Art Siegel comments:
"I see Paul Conchas on the second poster from left. The left hand poster has a date of April 30th. Conchas played the Orpheum in April, 1905. After reading the review, I'm sorry I missed the show! 'Theatergoers who thronged the Orpheum last night had the pleasure of witnessing a Juggling act by Paul Conchas that has never been equaled here in Its line. Conchas' specialty is juggling cannon balls, big gun shells and other warlike articles, whose weights run into the hundreds of pounds. His work is more than marvelous and he winds up by catching a volley of cannon balls on his neck. He is assisted by a queer-looking individual, who says never a word, but is nevertheless funnier by far than many of the alleged humorous ones that frequently make their way to this town.'"
A slightly wider but fuzzier version of the previous photo. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this one from his collection. He calls our attention to the separate entrance and boxoffice for the gallery at the far left. Gallery admission was ten cents.
Famed female impersonator Julian Eltinge (1881-1941) was on the Orpheum bill in September 1905. Thanks to Mark Reed for researching Eltinge for a post on the
San Francisco History to the 1920s Facebook page. This is part of an ad for "Iridescent Vaudeville" that appeared in the San Francisco Call on September 17. Mark notes that Vesta Tilley was the stage name of Matilda Powles, a British lady who performed as a male impersonator. There's a
Wikipedia article about her.
A postcard of Eltinge. A full-page article with illustrations in the
November 16, 1902 L.A. Herald was headlined "Boston Society Man Wins Fame and Social Favor as a Female Impersonator." It's on the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. There's a page about him on the website of the
New England Historical Society. There's also an article about Eltinge on
Wikipedia. Thanks to Mark Reed for locating the postcard and articles.
"Orpheum Site Will Have a Great Structure." A grand plan for a new Orpheum theatre was hatched in March 1906. It was detailed, along with other construction news, in "
Contracts to Improve Exceed Five Million." Thanks to Peter Field for locating the story in the March 11 issue of the San Francisco Call. It's on the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. The copy about the Orpheum:
"The largest realty deal in the local market during the last week involved the acquisition by Mrs. Nannie A. Meyerfelt of the site of the Orpheum on O'Farrell street in exchange for 48x100 feet on Mission street, near First, with six-story building, and 45x137 feet on East street, between Market and Mission, with four-story building, and also some cash.
"Mrs. Meyerfelt now owns a full 50-vara lot on the south line of O'Farrell street, between Stockton and Powell, on which will arise a twelve story building to house the Orpheum and many offices. The deal, which was handled by Center & Spader, represented $500,000. The sellers of the O'Farrell-street property were Miss Constance A. Meeks and Mrs. Blanche T. Heath, who inherited it from their father, Captain William Meeks."
The project was another that was never executed.
An April 18, 1906 photo with the fire still south of Market but only
several hours remained before the destruction of the theatres. The Orpheum's
awning is on the right. On the
left is a bit of the Alazzar with signage for "Are You a Mason?" and the
bottom several letters of the theatre's vertical visible.
Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this view by an unknown photographer that's in the
Open SF History Project
collection. He notes that in the distance the signage is visible for
the Oberon Concert Hall on the tapered roof of that building's tower at
O'Farrell and Stockton. Just beyond is the signage on the side of the
Belvedere Music Hall at 30 O'Farrell.
Closed: April 1906 as a result of the fire and earthquake.
The replacements: Between
1906 and 1909 the circuit had two temporary Orpheums. First they were
in the Chutes Theatre in Chutes Park at 10th and Fulton. It was renamed
the Orpheum during their tenure. Starting in March 1907 the circuit was
in a new theatre on Ellis St. After the return to downtown that house
was renamed the Garrick Theatre.
Tenderloin historian Peter Field comments:
"The Orpheum’s Ellis Street location was in the strictly middle-class Fillmore Street shopping and residential district located south of Geary Street, which the newspapers began to refer to as the Uptown Tenderloin after the pre-earthquake and fire entertainment and vice district moved there following the 1906 conflagration. Along with most of the theaters, this also included the saloons, cafes, dives, cigar stores fronting gambling joints, and brothels.
"By around 1910 or so, most of these venues, led by the theaters, were moving or had already moved back downtown into the pre-earthquake and fire Tenderloin District. Fillmore District residents had had enough, downtown San Francisco’s rebuilding began to include new and bigger hotels and storefronts in the old Tenderloin, and the current municipal administrations knew it would cost them votes not to push them back to their old haunts.
"Interestingly, the name Uptown Tenderloin moved back downtown, along with the vice operators, and it stuck to the old neighborhood until World War I, when for some reason everyone went back to calling it by its original name, the Tenderloin."
The new Orpheum Theatre built on the site of the 1887 house opened in 1909. It was a design by G. Albert Lansburgh and Bernard Josephs.
The current Orpheum Theatre on Market St. opened as the Pantages Theatre in 1926. It got the Orpheum name in 1929.
After the earthquake and fire:
The ruins of the Orpheum. The photo appears on
Calisphere from the California Historical Society.
The facade from the northwest. The photo by Philip Wolfe is on
Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library.
An entrance detail. It's on
Calisphere from the California Historical Society.
Looking west toward Powell St. The photo from the UC Bancroft Library appears on
Calisphere.
A 1906 Bear Photo Co. view toward the Call Building. The Orpheum is on the right with the skeleton of
the rounded
awning that had extended out to the curb still visible. The photo
appears in the California State Library collection.
Fischer's Theatre is on the near left. The
Alcazar is just beyond -- mostly a short ruin but with the wall closest to Market St yet to collapse. The building beyond the Alcazar at 110 O'Farrell once
housed Delmonico's restaurant.
A closer
view toward Market with the ruins of the Orpheum on the
right. The Alcazar is on the left. The photo appears on the website of the Open SF History Project.
Looking
west from Stockton. The Orpheum is on the left. On the
right it's Delmonico's at 110, the Alcazar at 116 and Fischer's at 122.
The Pillsbury Picture Co. photo from the Zelinsky collection appears on
the Open SF History Project website.
A California Historical Society photo looking from Stockton
up toward Powell. The Orpheum is part of the mess at the
left. The Alcazar is the second building on the right, followed by Fischer's. The photo is on Calisphere. A version of the photo is also in the San Francisco Public Library collection.
This similar view but taken back a tad farther by Lisle C. Green is in the San Francisco Public Library collection.
Yet
another shot up from Market of with the Alcazar and
Fischer's ruins beyond the tall building on the right. The Orpheum, up there on the left, still has
the skeleton of its awning that extended out to the street. It's in the USC Digital Library collection, where they give a credit to Preston Photo with J.D.
Cardinell as the photographer.
A
fine view of the theatre ruins on O'Farrell St. from above. At the
left, that's Powell St. headed up Nob Hill going by the burned-out St.
Francis Hotel. Fischer's is the building just right of center with the 5
arches on the second floor. To its right is/was the Alcazar. On the
near side of the street in the lower right we get a look at the inside
of the arch that was the entrance to the Orpheum. Thanks to R. Christian
Anderson for adding the photo as a comment to a post on the San Francisco History Facebook page about Enrico Caruso's 1906 visit. And thanks also to Glenn Koch for spotting it there.
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.
For a fine history of the neighborhood see Peter M. Field's 2018 Arcadia Publishing book "The Tenderloin District of San Francisco Through Time." It's available through Amazon.
The Orpheum and its theatrical neighbors can be seen on Volume 1, pages 35 and 36 of the 1905 Sanborn Real Estate Atlas that's on the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection website. The latter link gets you to a discussion of the six volume publication and links to various pages of it.
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