The Shanghai Theatre
Dupont St. near Union St. | map - approximate |
Opened: Late 1852 or early 1853. Evidently it was referred to as the Shanghai Theatre, at least in the English language press. This section of Dupont St. was renamed Grant Ave. after the 1906 earthquake and fire.
An item in the December 20, 1852 Daily Alta California located by Art Siegel via the California Digital Newspaper Collection website noted:
"The New Chinese Theatre will soon open with a choice Celestial Stock Company, each of whom will of course be equal to a star."
Several months later the operation was already in trouble and the building was up for sale. An ad for an auction sale by Rising, Caselli & Co. in the February 25, 1853 Daily Alta California that was located by Art Siegel noted this:
"... operatic troupes catering primarily to immigrant communities arrived periodically in the 1850s and 1860s. Their port of entry was San Francisco, which was also the center of Chinese cultural life and a place where organizers could easily rent theaters or other buildings in which troupes could perform.
"In 1855, for example, a fifty-person troupe appeared in San Francisco at the newly created Shanghai Theater on Dupont Street, which was managed by two immigrants, Chan Akin and Lee A-Kroon. Later that year the Shanghai hosted performances from the Grand Musical Opera of Guangdong, which starred Leang Shang (Leang Chang)..."
A fire alarm was reported in the "City Items" column of the May 5, 1858 Daily Alta California:
"Alarm of Fire. -- At 8 o'clock last evening, the City Hall bell struck an alarm for the Fourth District, and on the instant dense masses of smoke were seen issuing out of a frame building in the rear of the Chinese Theatre on Dupont street. It turned out, however, to only the flashing of some powder, which the Celestials had carelessly ignited.
"As another instance of the efficiency of our incomparable Fire Department, it may be mentioned that in three minutes after the tocsin sounded, one of the companies had their hose stretched and ready for service, in five minutes thereafter, the greater portion of the Department were on the ground. The San Francisco Firemen against the world!"
The Son Son Fong Theatre
East side of Dupont St. between Clay and Washington | map - approximate |
Opened: c.1867. In the 1867 city directory there's a listing for a "Chinese Theatre" on the east side of Dupont between Clay and Washington.
Evidently the operators of one of the Chinatown venues from 1862 onward had "recently erected their theatre" on Dupont c.1867. At least that appears to be the case from information in an item in the January 19, 1869 Daily Alta California. The city was trying to enforce a Midnight curfew against the theatre and the operators complained to the Board of Supervisors that a proposed ordinance was going to affect them and not the rival theatres. These two items appeared in the "City Intelligence" column:
"BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. CHINESE THEATRE - The following protests were referred: Your petitioners respectfully represent that they are the proprietors of the Chinese Theatre on Dupont street; that they are licensed and have been for over eight years last passed; that during that time they have paid into the city and county treasury over the sum of $6,500 for said licenses; that they have recently erected their theatre at great cost, and pay a ground rent of $425 per month, gold coin, under a lease of ten years; that there are rival theatres in this city, and that if resolution No 9,407 is carried into effect it will altogether ruin this company; that other theatres will be kept open after twelve o'clock and will get all the custom.
"Your petitioners further respectfully represent that they do not object to any order that is general and applicable to all theatres, or if the honorable Board shall so determine, be applicable to all Chinese theatres, but they do strenuously object to any rule, order or regulation applying solely to them, and thus destroying their business for the benefit of rival establishments. [Signed by Ah Sing & Co, Sam Yit & Co., Soong Sing, Ah Deen, Ah Loy, Yee Woo Jim, Ah Kee, Low Shi.]
"Your petitioners respectfully represent that they are owners or agents of property or residents of the neighborhood of. the Chinese theatre on Dupont street; that the said theatre does not injure the property in the neighborhood, but on the contrary, benefits the same; that since the theatre has been built the rental of adjoining property has increased in value, in some instances to a great percentage, and that closing the said theatre, or interfering with its management so as to destroy its popularity among the Chinese, would depress the value of the greater portion of the property in the immediate neighborhood.
"Your petitioners further represent that if resolution No 9,407 is carried into effect it will greatly injure the said theatre as a place of popular resort among the Chinese of this city, and consequently will injure property in the vicinity. Your petitioners further respectfully represent that the said theatre is not an annoyance to the majority of the people residing in the immediate neighborhood, and that the said majority do not object to it at all. [Signed by J. M. Baker, C. Wolf, J. Levy, C. Vaillant, D. McKay, I. Cohen, etc.]
One of the "rivals" was the Royal Chinese on Jackson St., a house that opened in 1868 and was later known as the "Old Chinese Theatre." Others that may have been open at the time were the Globe Hotel Chinese on Dupont at the corner of Jackson and the former Union /New Idea on Commercial.
The 1870 theatre feud: See the Royal Chinese page for accounts of a February 1870 feud between that theatre and one of the Dupont St. theatres that had recently been reopened by members of the See Yup Company. It's unknown if it was this theatre or the Globe Hotel Chinese Theatre at Dupont and Jackson.
An ad in the February 7, 1870 Daily Alta California about a change of management from the Son Son Fong Theatre Company to the Quong Soon Tong Company:
A third Dupont St. venue:
See the page about the Globe Hotel Chinese Theatre, Dupont at Jackson St.. It opened in 1865.
More information: See the timeline for the pre-1906 Chinatown theatres down at the bottom of the page for the Grand Chinese. That page also has links to various resources that discuss early Chinese theatres.
| back to top | pre-1906 theatre list | San Francisco Theatres: by address and neighborhood | alphabetical list | list by architect | home |
The other pre-1906 Chinatown venues: Old Chinese / Hung Chien Guen / Royal, 626 Jackson | New Chinese / Po Hing / Po Ring, 623 Jackson | [New] Royal Chinese, 836 Washington | Grand Chinese - 814 Washington St. | Globe Hotel Chinese - Dupont at Jackson | Union/New Idea Theatre - Commercial St.
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