The Tivoli Opera House 1879-1903

30 Eddy St. | map |

The Tivoli pages: 1874-1879 Tivoli Gardens | 1879-1903 Tivoli Opera House - 30 Eddy St. | 1903-1906 Tivoli Opera House - Eddy and Mason | 1913-1951 Tivoli Opera House / Theatre - 70 Eddy

Opened: 1879. The building was on the north side of Eddy St. between Powell & Mason. It was the second of four venues to use the Tivoli name. The address is listed as 28-32 Eddy on an 1882 theatre list.

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this photo from his collection. Check out those two maids in the upper windows. There's also a version of the photo on Calisphere from the Jesse Brown Cook scrapbooks at the Bancroft Library. They date it as 1889 but Jack notes that based on the size of the foliage it was obviously taken much earlier.

The theatre was a project of Joseph Kreling and his brother William. It was a replacement for their Vienna Gardens, a beer garden and performance venue, also known as the Tivoli Gardens, at Sutter and Stockton that had burned in 1879.  

 

Building on his promoting experience at the Gardens, Joseph rounded up various performers and opened the Tivoli on July 3, 1879. Joseph died in 1887 and his widow Ernestine later married the younger brother William. William died in 1893. Ernestine Kreling had co-managed the house with the two brothers but with the death of William she became the sole proprietor.

 

 

A c.1879 drawing of the Tivoli's auditorium appearing on Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. Joseph Kreling recaptured some of the informal ambience of his former beer garden operation with tables and chairs on the main floor. James O. Smith, in "San Francisco's Lost Landmarks" describes the theatre: 

"A beautiful gaslight chandelier hung from the ceiling and lit the stage. Garlands and festoons of flowers draped the stage and statues proudly stood on either side. Waiters served beer and cheese sandwiches while the actors performed... The Tivoli opera House defined its own niche and it prospered."

 

The theatre is seen in this detail from image 31 of volume 1 of the 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it in the Library of Congress collection. Mason St. is on the left, a bit of Ellis St. is in the upper right. Art calls our attention to the theatre's two-story building on Anna St. adjacent to the stage. It was a prop room on the 1st floor with a paint shop, scene dock and costume area on the 2nd floor.

Seating:

A main floor seating chart for the Tivoli. It appeared in the 1889 San Francisco Blue Book. The link to Internet Archive gets you to the beginning of the theatre seating chart section in the book, covering seven theatres. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for locating these for a post on the BAHT Facebook page.

A balcony seating chart from the 1889 San Francisco Blue Book. 

 

A few years later they had squeezed in several more rows. Thanks to Glenn Koch for sharing this main floor seating chart from a copy of the 1900 edition of the San Francisco Blue Book that's in his collection.  

 

A 1900 balcony seating chart showing a somewhat increased capacity. Thanks to Glenn Koch for sharing this. Both of the Kreling brothers had died by this time. Note that the page lists Mrs. Ernestine Kreling as the proprietress and manager.

 

History: When the Tivoli company was moving to their new theatre in 1903 Blanche Partington looked back in her November 29, 1903 San Francisco Call article "With the Players and the Music Folk" to discuss the theatre's origins:

"The Tivoli's inception was as remarkable as its subsequent history. In the early 70's a young man came here, Joe Kreling by name, and music-struck by nature. His father was here before him, and they came from Germany. He very shortly conceived the idea that San Francisco would stand for a permanent musical entertainment, and to that end engaged the old Bowie place, on Sutter and Stockton streets. This— known among the children as 'haunted' — Kreling remodeled and opened in 1874 under the title of 'The Vienna Gardens.' This venture was immediately successful. The crowds soon overflowed the place. Then came the question of new quarters, and in 1878 work on the new place — now the 'old Tivoli' — began. It was opened in 1879 by the Kreling brothers, William Kreling having joined his brother in the meantime. 

 

Joseph Kreling's image from the Call article. 

"The first attraction at the new theater was the Vienna Ladies' orchestra, and afterward there were concerts given by the 'Spanish Students,' a distinguished band of mandolinists, guitarists and such, that were stranded here on their way from Mexico. The house was then something on the order of the old Fischer's, the lower floor a cafe, but almost immediately Joe Kreling began to realize his ultimate dream, opera. Little more than a year afterward the Tivoli gave the first production of 'Pinafore' with one of the half-dozen 'Pinafore' companies stranded out here, the opera running for 104 consecutive nights! Of course after that the policy of the house was assured, and since that time, nearer six than five hundred operas have been given, embracing all classes. At the beginning this meant tremendous effort for the promoters, 'Joe' in particular. His daily programme of work makes the eight-hour day look like a picnic. He would be found in the box-office all day, taking charge of the bar in the evening, after the performances translating German, French and Italian operas into English for the company until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

"But Mr. Krellng got his desire, though he undoubtedly paid for it with his life. The Tivoli became famous, and is still unique among operatic institutions. And what things they used to do in those old days! One finds in the list of their productions colossal things like Mozart's 'Magic Flute,' the 'Don Giovanni,' 'William Tell,' 'L'Africaine,' 'Der Freischutz.' Again there are all the operas that Herr Conried gives now at the celebrated Irving Place Theater In New York, when the good Herr has a mind to opera. There is the first production of 'She,' the romantic opera by 'Billy' Furst, director of. the Tivoli, that ran for fifty-one nights there and afterward for five years on the road. There are productions of local genius, Oscar Weil's 'Suzette' and the 'Pretty Poacher,' H. J. Stewart's 'Bluff King Hal' and 'His Majesty.' There is the whole range of the Offenbach repertoire, Strauss, Suppe, Boieldieu, Lecocq, Balfe, and so on, and Gilbert and Sullivan are thoroughly represented. Only indeed by doing things like last week's 'Zaza,' last year's 'La Tosca' and 'Andre Chenier,'' the 'Queen of Sheba,' 'Otello,' 'Hansel and Gretel' of late seasons, could the Tivoli hope to live up to its honorable lineage. 

"The stranded company has been a prolific source of supply to the Tivoli. It gave us Collamarini, Russo, Barbareschi, Castellano, of late years, and gave the first. Italian opera at the house in 1882. But the first venture was a polyglot arrangement --not the last — the company using up several tongues during the performance. The opera, by the way, was Verdi's 'Ballo in Maschera,' and ran for twenty one nights. It was in '95, thirteen years later, that Mr. Leahy [Doc Leahy, later hired as manager] inaugurated a regular season of grand opera. Before that time the grand and comic opera were sandwiched indiscriminately together, the idea of separate seasons not having occurred to the management. A modest eight weeks was the first grand opera record, and since then it has varied from that unto a twenty-week season. Most of us are familiar with its later history.

"Once only has this unique twenty-five-year season of opera been interrupted, when to please Edwin Stevens 'Cyrano de Bergerac' was put on in '99. It was one of the cleverest things Edwin Stevens has done. A rather curious coincidence is that the house was first closed for the death of President Garfield, September 20, 1881, and last closed on September 19 and 20, 1902, for McKinley's funeral. The theater has been closed only for a few weeks since its opening, for deaths occurring in the Kreling family, for alterations and repairs. Until last year the Tivoli was wholly under the Kreling management. Joseph, founder of the house, was its mainstay until his death in 1887. 

 

William Kreling's image from the Call article. 

"William then took the cares of management upon his shoulders, and on his death in 1893 they were undertaken by Mrs. Ernestine Kreling. Mrs. Kreling, before that time chiefly concerned with the buttons and appetites of two small boys, then entered upon the work of theatrical management, and might have been seen any time for the last ten years in the old Tivoli office, doing anything to dressing dolls for the Christmas show. How successful Mrs. Kreling has been, always with the inspiration of Mr. Leahy behind her, is a matter of common knowledge, and as the head of the Tivoli corporation that is to handle the new theater, one can wish her only the same good judgment, enterprise and high purpose that have so far been hers in her theatrical career..."

 

Ernestine's image from the Call.

The Call's article continues with a complete list of the theatre's productions from 1879 until 1903. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating this via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website. 

 

Ernestine Kreling with Joe, Jr. and William, the two sons she had with Joseph. Thanks to Erika Kreling-Taylor, a great grand daughter of Joseph and Ernestine, for sharing the photo from her collection.

An ad for the Tivoli in an 1882 guide to the city. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for the find, a post on the BAHT Facebook page. Erika Kreling-Taylor comments:

"Both Joseph and William Kreling were true partners and strived to bring the arts to people who normally would not be able to participate. Joseph translated the operas, sometimes into five different languages, so the common people could enjoy them."

The Tivoli during a run of "The Magic Flute." Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the photo. He says: "It's probably August 1883, since they had a long run of it at that time, but it was one of those popular favorites that had frequent revivals, so I'm not 100% positive. The poster would tell the tale, but is just not quite clear enough to say for sure." 

Another version of the "Magic Flute" photo that appeared in a 1920 Bank of Italy publication. Thanks to Bob Ristelhueber for finding it and posting the item on the BAHT Facebook page.  

 

A set of photos perhaps from the mid 1880s, judging by the theatre's photo in the center. The set was being auctioned in July 2015 on Live Auction with this caption: "Large albumen photograph picturing the Tivoli Opera House in San Francisco circa 1875, broadsides for 'The Bohemian Girl' are posted on the marquees each side of the stairs." The gentlemen were the Tivoli's musicians. Thanks to Eric Reimann for the post of the set on the San Francisco History Facebook page.  

A c.1885 photo of the theatre. It's a detail from the center of the collage of photos of the theatre's musicians seen above. Thanks to Eric Reiman for posting it on the San Francisco History Facebook page.

 

"Nineteen cabinet card photos of musicians from the Tivoli Theatre San Francisco orchestra, some pictured with their instruments, measure from 4.25 to 7.5 inches. Provenance: from the estate of J. Mundwyler, musician with Gilmore's Band circa 1870." The set was being auctioned in July 2015 on Live Auction. Thanks to Eric Reimann for the post of the set on the Facebook page San Francisco History.

 

An undated program for the opera "Oberon" being presented as a "Grand Holiday Spectacle" at the Tivoli. We know which Tivoli due to the little drawing of the theatre's exterior. The program, from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library is on Calisphere. It's 1887 or earlier as it says "Kreling Bros. Proprietors." 

An 1888 photo appearing in an album assembled by Hamilton Henry Dobbin that's in the California State Library collection. Mr. Dobbin wandered SF extensively and kept a big scrapbook of his photos. There's a guide to his collection on the Online Archive of California.

 

A look at the theatre's chorus line sometime in the 1890s. Thanks to Nick Wright for sharing the photo on the San Francisco History Facebook page. It's a Bancroft library photo appearing on Calisphere. 

 

After Ernestine Kreling's second husband William died in 1893 there was a 'split' in the family. Ernestine's father-in-law unsuccessfully sued to take over the business that she had co-owned and run with both late husbands. 

The estate of William Kreling was finally settled in 1894 after many battles between different factions of the family. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the article "All is Settled" via the California Digital Newspaper Collection. It appeared in the March 10, 1894 San Francisco Call:  

"The Kreling Dispute Is at an End. The Estate is Divided up. Mrs. Kreling Takes the Tivoli for Her Share. Father and Son the Residue. Mutual Satisfaction Among the Principals, While the Attorneys Smoke the Pipe of Peace. All is smooth at last in the Kreling camp. The war which has been raging so bitterly for months past among the various members of the Kreling family is now practically over, and the estate of the late William Kreling is in a fair way to be distributed without further litigation. The fight has been a bitter one, and lawyers as well as principals have taken a hand in it. It began on the death of William Kreling. almost immediately after which event Mrs. Kreling applied for letters of administration, claiming to be the sole heiress of the estate. Against her claims were presented those of F. W. Kreling, father, and John Kreling, brother of the deceased, each of whom I claimed a partnership interest in the enterprises which belonged to the William Kreling estate.

"It was at first decided in the courts that Mrs. Kreling should have the whole control of the Tivoli Opera-house, an order which was subsequently modified by the appointment of Harry Lask as receiver pending a settlement of the dispute. After that trouble arose over the Kreling furniture factory on Guerrero street. Mrs. Kreling filed suit to determine her rights.... But there were counter-injunction suits brought on the other side, and there was much hostility evinced between the opposing lawyers, H. H. Loventhal on Mrs. Kreling's behalf and J. D. Sullivan and H. A. Choynski on the side of the Krelings, father and son... One of the issues in the case came up before Judge Sanderson yesterday. But to the general surprise it was announced that there was a prospect of a speedy settlement, and the case was continued. 

"It is now known that the matter is practically settled. Mrs. Kreling remains sole mistress of the Tivoli Opera-house, while all the residue of the estate, including the furniture factory and all real and personal property, is to be divided between F. W. Kreling and his son John. Some preliminaries regarding certain stock and bonds, which are hypothecated to some extent, have still to be settled up, but the above is the practical basis of the settlement decided upon. Mrs. Kreling and her devoted attorney are perfectly satisfied with the arrangement. They regard the Tivoli Opera-house as the one really profitable investment forming part of the estate, despite the fact that there is only a two years' lease on the property, subject to renewal for a further term of two years, while such a catastrophe as a fire would imperil the interests of the widow as well as of her two sons by her first husband, Joseph Kreling, deceased, brother of William. 

"On the other hand Messrs. Sullivan and Choynski are convinced that they have secured as good a bargain for their clients. They regard the matter in this light: The whole estate is worth $180,000. The Tivoli is probably worth about $50,000 to $60,000, while the balance of the property, valuable and tangible property, is estimated at not less than $130,000. It is said that the elder Kreling was from the first averse to entering upon a fight over the property. But he was keenly anxious, apart from the determining of his own interests, to secure those of his grandchildren, the children of his dead son, Joseph. From this time on it is expected that things will work smoothly and an immense amount of trouble and expense be saved to the estate. So the members of the Kreling family are once more on good terms, and J. D. Sullivan and H. H. Lowenthal parade the corridors of the new City Hall arm in arm, while Choynski smiles beatifically upon them."

Erika Kreling-Taylor comments: 

 

"Ernestine was a strong woman in her own right, and respected, and she won in a time women usually didn't. She was remarkable and we all look up to her as an example of strength. I read a lot of news articles from that time and it showed how much a pillar of the community Ernestine was."

 

About the father-in-law she adds: 

 

"He raised smart sons but was not the best with the widow. A couple of years later he was the victim of a stabbing at a pier."

 

Ernestine remained single for a number of years and then married a third time. With her new husband Doc Leahy, she continued to operate the Tivoli. He had been managing the theatre. 

 

   

Here she's leaving for her honeymoon with Doc. The identity of the other couple is not known. It's a photo from the collection of Erika Kreling-Taylor.

A November 1896 entrance view from the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments "This one was once printed backwards, and got a lot of exposure as such; apparently nobody at that time, or afterwards, had the sense or interest to simply turn it around until I got my hands on it!"

A c.1901 photo from the Glenn Koch collection. In the scrapbook it was from the following was written below the photo: "From 'Old Timer' May Malcom Tyrrel. 'The Original' Eddy St. S.T." The photo was a post on the BAHT Facebook page. Thanks, Glenn!

 

In 1902 Ernestine bought the property the theatre stood on and had big plans to build a new theatre as well as a hotel on the site. Thanks to Mark Reed for locating this article in the April 2, 1902 S.F. Call via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website:

 

No, it never got built. 

 

   

A 1903 photo of the Tivoli offering Leoncavallo's "Zaza" and Bellini's "I puritani." That framing rising in the background is the Flood Building at Market and Powell, which was completed in 1904. The Flood is on the site of the Baldwin Hotel / Baldwin Theatre, which had burned in 1898. Thanks to the Facebook page Lost San Francisco for finding the San Francisco Public Library photo. Their post got lots of comments.

Closing: The Tivoli wouldn't run much longer at this location. After the two operas advertised in the photo above it closed in November 1903 with a Verdi night. The city told the management they must move because their theatre was a firetrap. Instead of building a new theatre on this site, the opera company rebuilt an existing theatre building at Eddy and Mason for a second Tivoli Opera House, one that ran until 1906.  

A March 1905 photo of the Tivoli Cafe. In the 1905 city directory it was listed as at 16-18 Eddy St. The photo is in the San Francisco Public Library collection.

 

The skinny building to the left of the cafe at 22-24 Eddy had a restaurant on the 1st and 2nd floors with lodge rooms on 3 and 4, perhaps residential use above that. The Tivoli Opera House had been off to the left. Here it's being replaced by the new Kreling Building. When it was finished there was a restaurant on the ground floor, a billiard parlor on 2 and offices and lodge rooms on upper floors. See Volume 1, pages 47-48 of the 1905 Sanborn Map on the website of the David Rumsey Map Collection. 

 

 

Looking toward Market from Mason St. The building on the corner housed the Poodle Dog restaurant. Beyond the single-story next door ruins is what was left of the Kreling building, constructed in 1905 on the site of the Tivoli. The burned out Flood building is down at Powell St. and the Emporium is seen across Market. It's a photo in the San Francisco Public Library collection. Also in the collection see a view looking up Eddy from Market.

 

There was news in the "Permits Applied For" column of the San Francisco Call's September 13, 1906 issue about construction on the Tivoli site. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating the article:  

 

"Police Department to Use Structure to Be Built by Mrs. Ernestine Kreling. Mrs. Ernestine Krelling applied to the board of Public Works for a permit to erect a two-story brick building on the north side of Eddy street near Mason, the old Tivoli Opera-house site. The building will cost $20,000 and will contain the offices of the Police Department. The old foundations will be used and construction of the building will be commenced at once..."

 

 

Reconstruction on the block between Mason and Powell St. in December 1906. The closest of the new two-story buildings is the one Mrs. Kreling built on the site of the 1905 Kreling Building, earlier the site of the Tivoli. It's a photo from the Wyland Stanley collection that appears on the Open SF History Project website. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating it. The site's caption: 

 

"View east along the north side of Eddy between Mason and Powell. Construction at 64 Eddy. The building was later used as the temporary City Hall, City Jail, and Hall of Justice. Construction was completed in January 1907. Next door Carl Larsen's Tivoli Cafe is being rebuilt. (PF) Flood and Emporium buildings in background."

The 64 Eddy address reflected some renumbering after the earthquake. The Tivoli had been at 26-32, for example. The squat building just this side of the Tivoli/Kreling Building site ended up as a new three-story structure. See a somewhat later photo, with the Poodle Dog building still as a ruin, on the Open SF History Project site.

 

 

Doc Leahy and Ernestine in later years. Thanks to Leslie Whitehouse for sharing the photo from her collection in her thread about the theatre on the San Francisco History to the 1920s Facebook page. She comments: 

 

"Mrs. Kreling-Leahy and her husband Doc Leahy owned the Tivoli and brought L. Tetrazzini to perform in the city in the early 1900’s. I am privileged to have known her son, Joe Kreling, who married my Aunt Marge Klug."

More information: See the pages on the Tivoli Gardens, the 1903 Tivoli Opera House at Eddy and Mason, and the 1913 vintage Tivoli Theatre at 70 Eddy St.

The Tivoli is discussed on page 108 of the book "San Francisco's Lost Landmarks. It's on Google Books.

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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