Coliseum Theatre
745 Clement Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94118
745 Clement Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94118
4 people
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Showing 26 - 29 of 29 comments
Not demolished yet—-just “Closed.”
I saw the opening of Superman here. Somehow I got so excited it set off a seizure and had to have help walking to the bus a short block away.
Always wondered what they were going to do with it after the ‘89 quake. Ever notice that drugstores seem to have money to put drugstores in theatres and wonder why they couldnt restore one for a change…:(
George Senda
Concord, Ca
The opening date of the Coliseum was November 22, 1918.
The official seating capacity was 2047 seats,
not 3000 as posted above. By the late 1980’s
the upstairs portions of the theatre were deemed unusable,
allegedly because the fire escapes therefrom were no longer safe.
The building was severely damaged by the October 17, 1989 earthquake, and closed permanently as a result of the damage.
The shell of the original building remains, with portions of
the facade restored to their original design, while, inside,
the interior has been remodelled and converted to condominium apartments.
The architects were Reid Bros.
The original decorative feel was an eclectic blend of Arts and Crafts and Italian Renaissance, with hints of Moorish. The Mezzanine featured faux fireplaces and furnishings worthy of the finest bungalows. Later, sometime in the Twenties, the theatre underwent a slight redecoration, but the most significant remodeling occurred c. 1930 at the hands of LA architect S. Charles Lee. The predominantly silver and black “high art deco” interior scheme could be called a budget version of the interior of Lee’s Fox Wilshire in LA. In any case by the end of the decade, perhaps being deemed too distracting, the decor was toned down considerably, with the rich ornamental art deco plasterwork fronting the organ chambers remaining, but repainted along with the entire interior, in subdued colors with Greco-deco nudes painted along the sidewalls. The lobby was drastically redecorated in the Sixties, with the main floor being reseated around the same time. At some point the balcony fire escapes were deemed unsafe, and so for the remaining years of the Coliseum’s operation the vast balcony was kept closed and became a sort of time capsule, with seating from the 1930s remodel undisturbed, along with the carpet.
I visited the closed Coliseum in 1995 through a connection in United Artists, and was able to photograph the entire interior. Even though it was day, we turned on the vertical sign and marquee for the photos. This was likely the last time they were ever on.
When the theatre was gutted in 2000, everything was gutted to the bare walls, though four of the nude goddesses on the auditorium walls remained, and were sealed behind new concrete shearwall. One of the huge auditorium chandeliers (there had been eight), and one of the small under-balcony hanging fixtures were rescued from destruction during the demolition process, and were subsequently beautifully restored and sold. Likewise the etched glass windows on the Mezzanine from the 1930 remodel which were hidden behind later drywall were saved.
At least the outside of the building still looks obviously like a theatre, with facade ornament intact and a simple marquee holding the Walgreens sign (the ground floor retail tenant). All the upper floors are housing.