1475 Stockton St. | map |
Opened: November 1908. The theatre was in North Beach on the west side of the street where Stockton and Green intersect Columbus Ave. The early photo, date unknown, is from the Jack Tillmany collection.
Opened: November 1908. The theatre was in North Beach on the west side of the street where Stockton and Green intersect Columbus Ave. The early photo, date unknown, is from the Jack Tillmany collection.
A concern about attracting hoodlums to the neighborhood! Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this November 20, 1908 newspaper item about the theatre getting a permit to operate. He notes that it's interesting that the First Congregational Church that gave the nickelodeon operators so much trouble later became the notorious Green Street Theatre. See an early photo at the bottom of the page.
According to Jack's research, the Flag Theatre joined in sending box office receipts to earthquake victims in Italy in January 1909. He adds: "E. Fried and A. Matthews were the 1909 operators. Fried might be a shortened version of E. Friedlander who seemed to be a prominent businessman in San Francisco at that time. Looks like Fried pulled out in September 1909."
Ted Atlas reports that his grandfather, Morris Atlas, once owned the Flag as well as another nickelodeon. In the 1915 city directory he's listed as the proprietor and in the 1916 edition as the manager. Morris moved his family to San Jose in 1917 and didn't re-enter the theatre business. There's a family story that Jesse Lasky at one point wanted him to go to Hollywood to be a partner at the studio that later became Paramount.
Jack Tillmany notes that by December 1916, two brothers, Frank and Ralph Rodriguez, had both the Acme (much later renamed the Times Theatre) and the Flag. Frank handled the Acme and Ralph was at the Flag. The last city directory listing for the Flag is 1924, but the Film Daily Yearbook continues to list it until 1927.
Status: The building is gone. There's a 30s Bank of America building on the site
A mid-1917 view from the Jack Tillmany collection. He comments: "My guess is that this is probably Ralph Rodriguez, proudly posing outside his North Beach enterprise. The dating was tricky. 'A Soldier's Honor' is a mid-1912 release, and Marie Dressler in 'Tillie's Punctured Romance' is a 1914 feature, but 'Lass of the the Lumberlands' is 1917, so the first 2 are re-runs."
Another mid-1917 photo from Jack Tillmany. He comments: "'The Prisoner of Zenda' was a 1913 release, but 'The Wifeless Husband' episode of the 'Is Marriage Sacred?' series, and the 'Voice on the Wire' serial are both 1917. Interesting to see the same guy in both his more formal gear and his working clothes."
A corner of an April 4, 1922 street construction shot from the Jack Tillmany collection. He notes that it at least gives us the name of the theatre and adds: "Yes, I know it's listed as Flagg in a a couple places, but that's obviously a typo. All the newspaper references to it are Flag, as is the sign on the side of the building."
A corner of an April 4, 1922 street construction shot from the Jack Tillmany collection. He notes that it at least gives us the name of the theatre and adds: "Yes, I know it's listed as Flagg in a a couple places, but that's obviously a typo. All the newspaper references to it are Flag, as is the sign on the side of the building."
The site of the Flag, now with a Bank of America branch. That's Green St. on the right. Photo: Google Maps - 2014
An early view of the church that was such a bad neighbor for the Flag Theatre. It later became the Green Street Theatre, 631 Green St. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating the photo.
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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