333 Geary St. | map |
An illustration that appeared in the September 28, 1916 San Francisco Call. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. Call's discussion about the new building:
An article titled "The New Theatre St. Francis" was located by Joe
Vogel. It appeared in the magazine The Argonaut in September 1916:
"When the Theatre St. Francis opens on Monday evening, October 2d, at 8
o'clock, citizens of San Francisco will see the first theatre in America
that is not a theatre—that is, not a theatre in the commonly accepted
sense. The St. Francis, from tile pavement to projection-room, and from
double roof to basement music library, is a pioneer as a perfect
photoplay house—designed and built scientifically for the best showing
of the silent art of the screen. N. L. Josey, the man behind the St.
Francis, knew there were very many reasons why the old type of theatre
wasn’t exactly suitable for photoplay shows, so he set out, with
scientific mind, to invent a new type of 'theatre' which would best suit
the one and only purpose: to present, in the best possible manner,
screen productions and only screen productions. The result of his work,
and the proof of his science, is the Theatre St. Francis, at the corner
of Geary and Powell Streets.
"Unique features and innovations abound. The sidewalk itself in front of
the theatre is an area of two-toned tiles, laid in a pleasing geometric
design. The lobby is of fair size, with ticket booths at the sides—thus
leaving plenty of room to pass in and out of the theatre. The entire
façade of the theatre consists of an immense window of photographer’s
glass, around which a stained-glass border runs, the whole set in a
concrete 'front' embellished with art nouveau modelings. On this window
can be projected, from behind the glass, colored effects or pictures.
Again, the St. Francis is a ‘reversed’ theatre—that is, patrons in
facing the screen also face the street, as the mammoth screen is behind
that beautiful glass façade. So in passing into the auditorium to see
the photo-play the seats reached first are the ones closest to the
screen. Although the building is even better than Class A for fireproof
construction, still in the event of panic the entire house can be
emptied in two minutes, because it is built to save time whether one is
entering or leaving.
"Stretching back on a comfortable incline are rows of especially
comfortable chairs. And the seats in the balcony are just the same as
those downstairs, although the admission prices are lower for the
balcony. The mezzanine floor contains the ladies' rest room and the
gentlemen’s retiring room —both of these fitted up in the best possible
manner for convenience and comfort. The interior decoration is
absolutely new in America, as far as large buildings are concerned,
being l'art nouveau throughout, soft colorings and simple treatments.
New standards have been adopted, in order to make the Theatre St.
Francis the only one of its class in the United States. Heating
apparatus is provided for cool days and nights, the air itself being
warmed as it enters the theatre. The floor coverings are of the best
soft colored velvets. Bubbling drinking fountains are placed handy to
all parts of the house.
"And the policy of the house is in keeping with its structural beauty.
Manager Rosenthal and his co-workers decided long before the ground was
broken that no so-called sex dramas or other pathological or harmful
photoplays would ever be shown at the St. Francis. The sign, ‘No one
under sixteen admitted,’ will never be seen at the St. Francis
box-office, because the scheduled plays are of a class that that sign
does not apply to. There will be frequent changes of programme, the
prices will be moderate, and there will be a section where seats can be
reserved. Only first-run pictures will be shown. The opening attraction
will be 'Ashes of Embers,' with Miss Pauline Fredericks in the stellar
role. Music under direction of Messrs. Jaulus and Polak—the former on
opening night."
Another opening night photo from a scrapbook of Hamilton Henry Dobbin in the California State Library collection. When it appeared the day after the opening in the Chronicle it had this caption:
"Newest of the City's Picture Playhouses - Facade of the St. Francis Theater, which was opened auspiciously last night, and a suggestion of the throng that invaded the commodious playhouse, and overflowed its doors long before the first picture, 'Ashes of Embers,' was projected on the big screen."
An article on the same page in the October 3 Chronicle:
"New Picture House Built on New Lines - St. Francis on Geary Street Opens Its Doors For the First Time - Old Traditions Ignored - Ideas Inherited From Old 'Legitimate' Theaters Discarded. By Walter Anthony. Something new was revealed last night when the St. Francis theater on Geary street was opened. A playhouse has been conceived and constructed with every feature, from the sidewalk to the back wall, designed with the view of the theater's functioning. It is a motion-picture theater. The screen is set back of no proscenium arch designed to frame living, speaking players, but is placed against wall of the Geary-street entrance. You emerge through curtains and find yourself at the front row and not the last row of seats. Balcony and gallery are established at the far end of the cozy playhouse and entrance to those loftier reservations is effected over easy inclines and past several decorations of unobtrusive and refreshingly chaste character.
"Every One Can See - The tones of the building are pastel, not strident, and the seats have been so placed that every one yields a favorable line of vision to the screen, which is seen over the heads of the twenty instrumentalists who compose the splendid orchestra, and over the head of the organist, who releases harmonies from pipes cunningly hid behind the trellis work which borders the big screen. The theater was opened last night without ostentation. It was merely planned. There are 1100 seats inside. There were 1150 persons, at least, who found their way past the portals, and the management, overwhelmed by a throng whose eagerness couldn't be curbed, made the announcement that any who had purchased tickets and were unable to reach their seats would have the privileges of the house for any afternoon or night during the week.
"Elegance and Taste - An air of elegance and taste is all over the theater. Nothing is cheap nor tawdry. The facade glows, lighted, that is to say, from the huge dome of the Horticulture Palace of glass at the Exposition; pictures of famous stars of the screen adorn the outer doors; the eye is allured even by the sidewalk, which is decoratively laid, and with this there is found hardly the suggestion of the 'legitimate' theater. Everything suggests 'pictures' and moves the visitor to a mood wherein the human voice is so little expected, much as you do in a library. Last night's picture was 'Ashes of Embers,' with Pauline Frederick in a double role. She plays twins. She is Laura, the wicked, and Agnes, the good. She is a vampire vixen and a virtuous beauty. The scenes which she has with herself, when the vampire faces Agnes, are evidences of the ingenuity of picture-makers. Accompanying the picture, the music by the big orchestra under the direction of Bernat Jaulus and Sydney Polak was of a highly 'legitimate' quality."
Thanks to William David French, Jr. for locating the article.
An article that appeared in the December 2, 1916 Moving Picture World. It's on Internet Archive.
The buyer was Thomas W. Corder, owner of the hotel to the west of the theatre. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this in a column of real estate news in the December 20, 1916 San Francisco Chronicle.
Although Josey lost ownership of the building he had erected, the theatre continued to operate with his creditors in charge.
Here's another article located by Joe Vogel. This one appeared in the
January 6, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
Art Siegel located a mention of the St. Francis near the end of an October 19, 1918 San Francisco Call article about the shutdown of theatres due to the influenza epidemic.
During the shutdown the Techau Tavern people were after the lease. In the November 16, 1918 San Francisco Call this article appeared noting that the theatre building would be the new home of the venerable tavern:
"TECHAU TAVERN PLANS NEW HOME - Negotiations are under way today for the lease of the St. Francis Theater building in Geary street near Powell by the Techau Tavern restaurant. The lease will be for ten years at a rental of $1250 a month. The building now occupied by the tavern at Powell and Eddy streets has been bought by the Bank of Italy. The lease on the present quarters expires July 3, but it is expected an extension will be obtained probably to September 1, when the new quarters will be ready. Work of remodeling the theater building will begin about March 1. The cost is fixed at about $80,000. A Powell street entrance will be obtained by renting a store in the Elkan Gunst building."
The other news in the November 16, 1918 San Francisco Call was that the theatres had reopened. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this article:
Although the theatre had reopened, its fate had been determined. We got some specifics about the remodel plan in this November 16, 1918 Chronicle article located by Art Siegel. They planned to dig out a basement and remove the balcony.
The theatre manager noted that his lease doesn't expire until September 1919. This item appeared in the "Real News of the Reel Fellows on Film Row" column in the November 30, 1918 San Francisco Call:
"E.C. Cunningham, manager of the St. Francis Theater, is authority for the statement that his lease on that building does not expire until September, 1919. Despite reports that the Techau Tavern will take over the building early next year, Cunningham says that no such arrangement has yet been made with him."
Closed: Sometime in late 1918 or early 1919. Despite the manager's claims about the lease, plans proceeded for conversion of the building. Art Siegel located this in the Building Contracts column of the March 22, 1919 Organized Labor:
"S. Geary 92-6 W Powell W 45xS 137-6. Wrecking, excavation, bulkheading, underpinning, brick chimney, concrete, sidewalk, sidewalk doors, prism lights, curbing, etc., for alterations and additions to St. Francis Theater building for cafe. Owner, T. W. Corner, Inc.; contractor, Richard J. H. Forbes, Monadnock Bldg. Cost, $13,750."
More contract news in the May 17, 1919 Organized Labor:
"SW Geary and Powell S 85xW 92-6. Wrecking, lumber, labor mill, roofing, flooring, sash and doors, glass, stairs, lockers, wire mesh sump cover, concrete floor in lavatory, etc., for store in building. Owner, Techau Tavern Co.; contractor, Branch & Coffer, 228 Mills Bldg. Cost, $4390."
And in the May 31, 1919 Organized Labor:
A postcard view of the building on the corner with the Powell St. entrance to the Techau Tavern on the far left. Thanks to Art Siegel for spotting this in a 2012 post on the Gold Dust Lounge Facebook page. Their article notes that after the Techau closed in 1922 the 247 Powell location became a florist's shop and then a bar after prohibition ended. And, as we see in this c.1939 image, for a time it once again used the Techau name. Later it was called the Gold Dust.
We get a description of the remodeled premises in the November 20, 1919 San Francisco Call. Thanks to Art for finding this article in the "News of the Shops About Town" column by Betty the Shopper:
"The House of Joy !—I mean: Techau Tavern! Is open to You! —And for all: — Go now and forget sorrow! — For the new Techau Tavern is a very wonderful place! —I say so! You enter through a Marble Hall facing on Powell Street, and this Hall is mirrored and chandeliered to a most artistic beauty!— The Hall ends at the Main Dining Room, and you are in the Chamber of Epicurean Delights!— This Room is Magnificent!—Very! - So much splendor and beauty that it is impossible to describe it; — The walls are decorated: The ceiling chandeliered; — There is a dais on each end of the room and a dais for the orchestra!— In the center of the room is the dancing floor!—This is in the form of an oval, the only one of its kind in the West!— Exquisite carpets cover the Dining Room, which surrounds the Oval Dancing Floor! The Dining Room seats 600! Because this room cannot be fittingly described,—l can only say: —Go!—
"The Tavern opened Monday night!— Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Nights were Special Dinner Nights! And on all these nights the places were all filled with well known people. Well, all I can say is that everything is of the regular standard of the Techau Tavern, and that means Perfection; Perfection in all things!— Go now to;—Techau Tavern! — The most beautiful Tavern in the world! — I say so! And you'll say so!— P. S. —A New Departure is the Techau Tavern Tea Lectures, which begin this afternoon! Major Watson will lecture on 'The Indian Folk Lore of Mexico.'"
Prohibition was a major problem. This was in the November 4, 1921 San Francisco Call:
"Manager, 3 Waiters Get Terms For Booze Sale. Albert C. Morrison, for many years manager of Techau Tavern, today was sentenced by Federal Judge M.T. Dooling to six months' imprisonment, without alternative of a fine, for violation of the prohibition laws. V.K. Lardi, captain of waiters, was given similar sentence and Richard Bucking and John Antonetti, service bar employees, who had pleaded guilty, got four months' sentences. A big gallery of lawyers was in the court when sentence was pronounced, including Robert H. McCormack, assistant United States attorney general, and Ben F. Geis, assistant United States district attorney, who prosecuted, and Bert Schlesinger for the defense. Ample Warning Given..."
The closing of the Techau was discussed in this story Art located in the February 15, 1922 San Francisco Call:
"Techau Tavern To Close; May Reopen As Candy Shop. Techau Tavern, Powell and Geary streets, for twenty-one years the gathering place of bon vivants. has been unable to survive prohibition and high rent, so will close on Saturday night. When 'Techau's,' as the famous restaurant is familiarly known throughout the country, reopens it will retain its name, but its business will be catering to the light lunch, candy and ice cream soda trade. The dance floor will be missing.
"Plans In Doubt. Carlton H. Wall, who holds the lease, stated today that definite plans for the future have not been determined. Negotiations are in progress with the management of the Golden Pheasant which would make the Techau Tavern a light lunch and candy shop, or on the other hand A.C. Morrison, the present manager, may operate it as such. Wall states that the leases he holds on the Powell and Geary streets properties comprising the Techau Tavern premises, have become so valuable that numerous offers have been made which, if accepted, would likely see an entirely different place of business."
A "Grabeteria" on the horizon. Art found this story in the February 28, 1922 San Pedro Daily News:
Wilson's, a candy store
and soda fountain, took over the premises later in December 1922. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this ad in the December 5 Chronicle. There was also an ad for the grand opening in the December 5 Call. An article in the December 6 issue of the Chronicle
was headed "Peninsula Candy Man Invades This City."
A December 27, 1931 Chronicle ad for the Beauty Salon with the "Entrance in Wilson's Confecturant." Wilson's evidently was running until 1935.
This series of photos of the upstairs by Joe Rosato, Jr. appeared with "Lefty O'Doul's Bloody (Mary) Secret," his November 23, 2009 story on the site NBC Bay Area. Thanks to Kevin Silva for spotting the story. In the article Joe commented:
"On a recent visit, Lefty’s owner Nick Bovis popped a padlock off a door in the middle of the dining room, revealing a hidden stairway, with dark, wooden steps worn from a century of footsteps.... Around another corner, a staggering sight materialized: A ceiling of glass skylights illuminated a massive room of wooden beams and ornate molding. At one end of the 70-foot long room, the wall is a faded powder blue. Sculptures of fish hung on every corner, standing guard over a place time and progress have forgotten."
The question is: What are we looking at? Theatre stuff or decor from a later tenant? It hadn't been a theatre since 1919 so most likely the latter. It's tempting to see the arch in this photo as the remnant of a proscenium -- maybe that railing across midway was a later addition.
The other St. Francis Theatre: The one on Market St. opened as the Empress and was later called the Strand. It didn't get the St. Francis name until 1925, long after this one on Geary had closed. See the page about that St. Francis for a history and many, many photos. Also note that the Strand Theatre had been called the Francesca between 1921 and 1928.
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