The Auditorium

SW corner of Page & Fillmore | map |

Opened: This immense building called The Auditorium opened November 2, 1906. This drawing of the Fillmore St. facade is from the San Francisco Call issue of October 24, 1906. Haight St. is off to  the left, Page St. is on the right. The drawing appeared with "Remembering the Page and Fillmore Skating Rink," a May 2015 Hoodline story by Andrew Dudley. He quotes the Chronicle:

"While the place is primarily a rink for skating, still it contains all the features of an up-to-date clubhouse and a music hall combined. Smoking rooms for gentlemen and retiring rooms for ladies are provided. The decorations throughout are superb, and 6000 electric lights, arranged in festoons from the ceiling, afford the best of light ... The sides are paneled in Flemish oak, and the pillars which support the balconies are ornamented with beveled French plate mirrors. Paintings representing landscapes from every country in the world relieve the walls."

The building stretched the entire length of a block on Page St. between Fillmore and Steiner. It could be set up with seats or cleared to use as a roller rink. This seating plan from the June 17, 1907 issue of the Call appeared with the Hoodline article.

Andrew Dudley notes in the article: 

"Although roller skating began declining in popularity in the years following the Auditorium's opening, the structure remained busy, hosting an increasingly diverse array of events. Boxing matches, basketball games, political rallies, dog shows, military balls, indoor carnivals, track meets, and even a poultry exhibition all took place at the site." 

 

Capacity: 8,000

 

 

Thanks to Glenn Koch for this postcard from his collection. It was a post on the BAHT Facebook page.

The July 24, 1910 issue of the Call ran an article describing the event pictured on the card, the National Festival of Song. The page can be viewed on the site of the California Digital Newspaper Collection. Thanks to Neal A. Parrish for locating the article.

A June 1912 photo looking west on Page toward Steiner. It's a SFMTA photo appearing on Hoodline.
That's part of the Auditorium on the left. The entrance was up on the corner behind us. Thanks to Neal A. Parrish for locating the article.

Closing: It was destroyed by fire November 7, 1915.

More information: The Auditorium Rink is one of the venues covered in Rae Alexandra's 2022 KQED article "5 Long-Lost San Francisco Attractions the City Should've Kept."

See the page about the Coliseum, another early roller rink on Baker St. between Oak and Fell. 

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