The American Theatre

Sansome and Halleck Sts.  | map |

Opened: October 20, 1851 on the northeast corner of Sansome and Halleck streets (Halleck is between California and Sacramento). This drawing is on Calisphere from the Museum of Performance and Design Performing Arts Library. Thanks to Mark Reed for including it in a post on the San Francisco History Facebook page about Irish actress Matilda Heron. He adds that the theatre was: 

"... 'the first brick edifice constructed on the newly made soil' along Sansome Street — built on land reclaimed from Yerba Buena Cove. The theater’s opening night in 1851 was so crowded that the 'weight occasioned the walls to sink one or two inches' [both quotations in this paragraph are from the SF Directory 1852/1853]."

The Museum asserts that the drawing appeared in 1851 which, if true, represents the first of two theatres on the site. It's unknown how much the exterior of the first theatre resembled the look of the second. The drawing certainly shows a building that looks identical to the 1855 photo of the second theatre seen below.

The theatre was run by Dr. David Robinson, who also had the Adelphi Theatre and was also an actor. The building evidently didn't have any additional problems after that bit of sinking on opening night. There had been rumors of a weak foundation. Robinson left the management of the American in February 1852 as he was unable to compete with Tom Maguire's Jenny Lind Theatre. 

In 1852 a Chinese troupe arrived to perform at the American. Thanks to Art Siegel for locating information about an article in the Daily Alta California that appeared October 17. It's on the Online Archive of California site as a contribution from the Museum of Performance and Design's Performing Arts Library. The text: 

"AMERICAN THEATRE. -- The celebrated Chinese dramatical company, known as the Tong Hook Tong Company, have arrived in this city, and will appear at the American Theatre to-morrow evening. It consists of 123 performers, accompanied by an orchestra of their own music, and under the management of Messrs. Tiksoon, Norman Assing and Tong Chick. 

"They appear in the beautiful spectacle of 'The Eighth Genii,' offering their congratulations to the high ruler, Yuk Hwang, on his birthday. The performances are said to be not only extremely novel but highly interesting. They enjoyed a high reputation in the Celestial Empire, and have been extremely successful in their representations in the large cities. Doubtless the attendance to-morrow evening will be immense."

Lola Montez appeared at the American in 1953. 

The first closing: The building was demolished in July 1854.

 

The second American Theatre:  A new theatre was constructed on the site and reopened in December 1854. James R. Smith in "San Francisco's Lost Landmarks" notes: 

 

"The best reports concerning the new edifice claimed it was innovative, comfortable, and spacious. The worst called it a garish mix of Grecian and Oriental design, lacking harmony." 

 

Famed actress Laura Keene leased the house for a successful season running from April to July 1855. In 1854 she had operated the Union Theatre on Commercial St. for a brief season. Keene's career is discussed in "The Cambridge History of American Theatre," edited by Don B. Wilmeth and Christopher Bigsby. The discussion of Keene's San Francisco adventures appears on pages 207 and 208 in a chapter by Douglas McDermott titled "Structure and Management in the American Theatre." The pages are included in the preview on Google Books.

 

An 1855 photo appearing on the Open SF History Project website. On the corner kiosk they're advertising Laura Keene in "Midsummer Night's Dream," a show she offered for 12 performances in May and June. The photo is from the Martin Behrman Negative Collection, Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for finding it in the collection. Also see another version of the photo. There's also a smaller version of the photo on the San Francisco Public Library website.

There was a major remodel in the spring of 1859.

Closed: The theatre burned in 1868 and was not rebuilt. It's unknown if the fire was due to gas lighting or other causes.

A detail from a buried ships map. Thanks to Mark Reed for posting it on the San Francisco History Facebook page. He has shown the location of the American in blue. Halleck St., not identified on the map, is on the south side of the theatre. Mark added this as one of many comments to his post about the American Theatre and the Irish actress Matilda Heron, who appeared at the theatre in 1853. 

The full map appears on the website Noe Hill. Thanks to Garold Haynes for finding it for a post on the San Francisco History Facebook page.

More information: The American and Dr. Robinson are discussed at length starting on page 95 of James R. Smith's book "San Francisco's Lost Landmarks." It's on Google Books.

The American gets a mention in James Madison's 1926 article "San Francisco Theatrical Memories," appearing on a page from the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.

Other theatres called the American include the Embassy on Market. It opened as the American in 1907. The American in the Fillmore opened as the Chutes Theatre in 1909.

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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