The Theodeon

 444 Divisadero St. | map | 

Opened: It was running by 1909. The location was on the east side of the street between Fell and Oak. It was across the street from the Fairyland Theatre. At that time the street name was spelled Devisadero. 

 

Some of the ads in a May 1, 1909 S.F. Bulletin three-page salute to "San Francisco's High-Class Moving-Picture Theatres," part of their Pacific Progress Issue. The Theodeon was one of 30 theatres advertising in the section, which also included the long-winded articles "Education on Wheels - The Nickelodeon a Factor in Modern Civilization," "The Nickelodeon a Permanent Factor in Public Amusement" and "The 5-Cent Theater Opens Wide the Door of Pleasure to the Scanty Purse."  Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this. 

The Theodeon is listed in the April 1, 1911 edition of the telephone directory. It didn't get a listing in the 1910, 1911 or 1912 city directories. 

Jack Tillmany notes that the theatre was listed in the May 4, 1911 San Francisco Chronicle among the many smaller venues raising money for Children's Hospital benefit on May 12. 

 

 

 

The Theodeon was listed among the theatres that were participating in the Children's Hospital benefit in this article from the May 27, 1911 issue of The Film Index. Thanks to Jack for locating this list via Internet Archive.

Closing: It appears to have been quite short-lived. Jack notes that by 1912 the location was a carpet cleaning establishment.

Status: The building the theatre was in has been demolished. There's now a gas station and car wash on the site.

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.

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