San Francisco Theatres: Knights of Columbus Hall

150 Golden Gate Ave. | map |

Opened: November 8, 1912 as the Knights of Columbus Building. It was on the north side of the street between Jones and Leavenworth, a block up from where the Golden Gate Theatre now is. The 1978 photo of what had become the Syufy Building with the auditorium as the Theatre of All Possibilities was taken by Tom Gray. It's from the Jack Tillmany collection.

The building to the left at 172 Golden Gate Ave. housed the offices for the United Artists Theatre Ciruit until it was sold in mid 1980s.

Seating: 1,000 in the auditorium, on the ground floor of the building. There was also a ballroom and office space.

A November 9, 1912 article about the new building located by Jack Tillmany.

According to research by Jack Tillmany, the building was vacated by the church organization in 1941. After a renovation it was officially dedicated as the CIO Building on December 31, 1941. Later it was also known as the ILWU Hall.

The Burma Club was opened in the basement by local entrepreneur Harry Greenbach on August 20, 1947. Jack notes that one of their first headliners was emerging superstar Frankie Laine. Above the club, the Straw Hat Theatre used the main auditorium for their productions in October and November 1947.

At some point theatre operator Ray Syufy acquired the building and it was renamed the Syufy Building and upstairs space was used for the circuit's offices.

In November 1976 Alexander Francis Horn and his wife Sharon Gans-Horn signed a lease for the theatre space and renamed it The Theatre of All Possibilities. They used 160 Golden Gate as their address, probably to distinguish it from the Syufy offices on the upper floors. Horn and his wife had earlier opened and successfully operated the Everyman Theatre at 3316 24th St., in the Mission District. That venue had opened January 5, 1973 and was destroyed by fire September 17, 1976.

Apparently the theatre group lived up to its name all too well, and shut down in December 1978 after a lot of bad press. A story about the leaders leaving town and the building closing made the front page of the December 23, 1978 Chronicle. Ex-members of the "self-improvement" cult alleged beatings, child neglect, and an extortionate fee structure.

Status: In October 1999 the empty building was purchased for $3 million (thanks to an anonymous donor) by the St. Anthony Foundation, headquartered at St. Boniface Church across the street. After a renovation, the five story building now serves as a haven for the homeless.