Garrick Theatre
1631 Ellis Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
1631 Ellis Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94115
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Orpheum Circuit
Architects: Matthew O'Brien, Carl Werner
Firms: Werner & O'Brien
Previous Names: Orpheum Theatre
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Opened as the Orpheum Theatre on January 21, 1907, replacing the downtown Orpheum Theatre, which had been destroyed in the April 1906 earthquake and fire. When the new downtown Orpheum Theatre opened on April 19, 1909, this one was renamed the Garrick Theatre and, as such, operated until the mid-1920’s, when it became the Bagdad Bowling Alley.
In later years it became a church, and was torn down in the early-1970’s. It stood immediately next door to the Princess Theatre/Ellis Theatre (qv).
Contributed by
Jack Tillmany
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Can someone identify this photo ? Is this the Orpheum that became the Garrick, the original downtown Orpheum, or the new downtown Orpheum of 1909? The postcard bears a 1912 postmark.
This 1907 Orpheum was designed by the architectural firm of O'Brien & Werner (Matthew O"Brien and Carl Werner) It was one of five San Francisco theaters they designed that were listed in an ad for the firm in the 1907-1908 edition of Henry’s Official Western Theatrical Guide.
An article about San Francisco’s movie theaters in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Garrick Theatre had 1,600 seats. In 1916, the Garrick was being operated as a five-cent movie house by Von Hagen Brothers.
Here is a 1907 postcard photo showing the Orpheum Theatre and its neighbor, the Princess, later to be called the Ellis Theatre.