Opened: 1913 on the northeast corner of Van Ness and Oak. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for this photo of the building in the 1920s. The sculpture is the California Volunteer's Monument, here seen in its original location.
Architects: Bliss and Faville
Website: www.nctcsf.org
Seating capacity: The two small basement theatres seat 49 and 79. The larger basement house can hold between 99 and 120 depending on the setup. The main auditorium on the 7th floor is no more. In the 80s it was used with capacities varying from 200 to 399 depending on the production.
The Masons opened the current Masonic Auditorium building at 1111
California St. in 1958 but retained ownership of this building on Van
Ness until 1978. In the 1980s the main auditorium in the building was called the Van Ness Theatre.
It's hosted many live performances under a variety of names including as the Zephyr Theatres, a four auditorium complex that was built out in 1986. The initial shows at the Zephyr were Samuel Beckett's "Endgame," Harold Pinter's "Homecoming," "The March of the Falsettos" and the S.E.W./Lorraine Hansberry Theatre's production of "In the House of the Blues."
Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating these articles in the March 19, 1986 issue of the S.F. Chronicle. Shows running in June 1986 at the complex included the S.F. Actors Theatre production of "The Women" and the Cahiers du Theatre production of A.R. Gurney, Jr.'s "The Dining Room.
Steve Dobbins, the proprietor of the Zephyr operation, had moved from 595 Mission St. He'd been there since around 1980 in a building that contained a single auditorium plus some studio space.
The City acquired the building in 1978. Most of it got turned into offices and they wanted to eliminate the theatre spaces but faced opposition.
1991 appears to be the last year the complex was advertised as the Zephyr. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this November 3, 1991 ad for "Party of One" in the Examiner/Chronicle.
Status: There are now three performance spaces remaining, all in the basement. Those venues operate as the New Conservatory Theatre Center. That organization was started in 1981 and initially located in the building of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 1187 Franklin St. There's a PDF available of the organization's Legacy Business Application that includes photos, press clippings and a history of the group. Thanks to Matt Weimer for the information.
Other spaces in the building are now occupied by various city services including the Rent Board, Arts Commission, Department of Public Health, Project Homeless Connect and Veterans Service Office.
Other spaces in the building are now occupied by various city services including the Rent Board, Arts Commission, Department of Public Health, Project Homeless Connect and Veterans Service Office.
Interior views:
The stairs down to the basement. Photo: NCTC. All the interior photos come from their 2020 Legacy Business Application, available as a PDF.
The display wall at the bottom of the stairs. Photo: NCTC
The boxoffice. Photo: NCTC
The bar area. Photo: NCTC
The front of the big house. Photo: NCTC
The rear of the house. Photo: NCTC
One of the smaller performance spaces. Photo: NCTC
More exterior views:
A c.1922 postcard of the building from the Marilyn Blaisdell Collection. It appears on the Open SF History Project website courtesy of Molly Blaisdell. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for spotting it.
A c.1986 photo by Tom Gray that's in the Jack Tillmany collection.
An entrance detail taken by Tom Gray. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this from his collection.
The carvings above the entrance doors. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating the photo.
A c.2007 corner detail by Bruce Bortin appearing on Flickr.
A photo by Griffin Estes that was one of many included in a 2015 Hoodline story about the building.
The lower portion of the Van Ness facade. It's a c.2015 Griffin Estes photo taken for Hoodline.
More information: See the page here on this site about the 1958 Masonic Auditorium on California St. Wikipedia has an article on that current Masonic Auditorium that also mentions the group's earlier buildings.
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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