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Building History

There has been some confusion over the name and location of this third Alcazar Theatre. An article in the San Francisco Call, 12/10/1915, "Playhouse To Be near Former Site," clarified the building chronology. The Alcazar Theatre #1, located at 116 O' Farrell Street, burned in the Great Earthquake and Fire of 04/18-19/1906. Belasco and Mayer operated the Alcazar Theatre #2 at Sutter and Steiner, from 1907-1911. The Call article stated: "Until the new Alcazar is completed, Belasco & Mayer will continue to present their stock company in popular plays at the playhouse at Sutter and Steiner streets, which was constructed shortly after the fire." Of the Alcazar Theatre #3, the article reported: "The new Alcazar theater will be located within a block of the lot occupied before the fire. Announcement was made yesterday by Belasco & Mayer, proprietors of the Alcazar, that a site for the new playhouse had been secured in the north side of O'Farrell street between Powell and Mason. Before the fire, the Alcazar theater was in O'Farrell street directly opposite the Orpheum." The Alcazar #1 was located at 116 O'Farrell, and the Orpheum #1, stood at 119 O'Farrell. According to the San Francisco City Directory of 1908 (See "Amusements--Places of," p. 1917), the Alacazar Theatre #2 stood at "Sutter cor Steiner," and the Orpheum #2 was on "Ellis, bet Fillmore and Steiner."

The 1910 Call article mentioned that the Alcazar #3's architects were "Cunningham and Polito," compounding the confusion a bit; the architectural firm was Cunningham and Politeo. It said: "Cunningham & Polito [sic] are the architects for the new playhouse. They announce that ground will be broken early in January and that they expect the Alcazar will be open for plays during the Thanksgiving week of next year. The new theater will embrace all that is new in theater construction. Special attention will be paid to acoustics and line of sight. The full stage will be visible from every one of the 1,500 seats and every whisper of the players will be audible to the audience. The interior will be arranged so that not a single supporting column will be visible." Cunningham and Politeo designed other theatres, including the T and D Theatre, Downtown, Oakland, CA.

The Alcazar Theatre #3 had various names between 1911 and 1961: the "New Alcazar," (c. 1911-1921), Wilkes Alcazar (c. 1922-1924), Federal (c. 1937-1939), United Nations (c. 1945-1952) and Alcazar (again) (1952-1961). (See "San Francisco Theaters, Cinemas, Dancehalls, after 1906," accessed 04/27/2015.) During the Depression, it served as the local headquarters for the Federal Theatre Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). When the United Nations met during formative meetings in San Francisco, CA, in 1945, it used this theatre as an assembly place for some of its functions.

Building Notes

In the 1920s, the actor/producer Henry Duffy utilized the Alcazar #3, as a venue for his Henry Duffy Players, Incorporated, stock theatre company. According to David C. Tucker's book on Eve Arden, "By 1927, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Henry Duffy Players, Inc. had active companies in L.A., San Francsico, Seattle and Portland." (See David C. Tucker, Eve Arden: A Chronicle of All Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances, [Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland and Company, Publishers, 2012],p. 4.) Duffy also used the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles at this time.

Alteration

Renovations occurred to the Alcazar Theatre #3 in 1952 to revert it to staging live theatrical performances.

Demolition

The Alcazar #3 was torn down in 1962. The Handlery Motor Hotel was built on this parcel in the early 1960s.

PCAD id: 11773