Overview

LeCount and Strong's San Francisco City Directory for the Year 1854 listed five halls operating in San Francisco. They included Armory Hall (NE corner of Sacramento and Montgomery streets), City Hall (Kearny st., opposite Plaza), Horticultural Hall (Warren & Son), Meiggs’ buildings, SE corner Montgomery and Bush streets), Masonic Hall (110 and 112 Montgomery street), and San Francisco Hall, N. side Washington st., bet. Kearny and Montgomery). For some reason, Horticultural Hall and Musical Hall, the same buiding, were listed twice.

Building History

Meiggs' Musical Hall as it was known to contemporaries, opened in 1853. Lumber merchants Henry and John G. Meiggs operated at this address on the southeast corner of Montgomery and Bush Streets. They owned the Musical Hall and Horticultural Hall, two names for the same building, Henry Meiggs lived at the corner of Montgomery and Broadway in 1854. (See LeCount & Strong's San Francisco City Directory for the Year 1854, [San Francisco: Printed at the San Francisco Herald Office, 1854], p. 94.)

In 1854, the building had three parts, a lower floor on Bush Street, a lower floor on Montgomery Street, and a second floor with an entrance on Bush. Tenants in the lower floor on Bush Street included: Warrent and Son, Hortcultural Rooms and the Musical Hall with three rooms vacant. The lower floor on Montgomery was occupied by a meeting hall and two vacant rooms. The second floor on Bush had the following tenants: Henry Moise, carver and gilder; Captain William P. Williams; Edward S. Williams; John Crane; Office of the California Lumber Company; office of the California Farmer; Warren and Son's Exhibition Rooms; Carpenter's Hall; Jesse L. Wetmore, Carpenter and Builder. (See "Appendix to Buildings—Meiggs’ Musical Hall," LeCount & Strong's San Francisco City Directory for the Year 1854, [San Francisco: Printed at the San Francisco Herald Office, 1854], p. 188.)

The first California State Fair occurred at the Musical Hall in San Francisco in 1854. The Daily Alta California newspaper had a short article about the fair: “This exhibition opened at the Musical Hall yesterday. A great many persons visited the Hall throughout the day, although the opening was a very informal one, in consequence of a large number of articles having failed to arrive at the appointed time, and prevents the arrangements from being completed. The opening speech will be made at 8 o’clock this evening. A visit to the exhibition will richly repay the time expended on it. One hour spent at Musical Hall will afford more real information concerning the vast agricultural resources of our beautiful State than could be acquired by traveling for weeks from place to place. The fruit is temptingly displayed, and there are some of the most beautiful samples, and the greatest variety imaginable. Flowers of every hue, rare plants, mammoth vegetables, wax work, shells, minerals, agricultural implements, &c., displayed with much taste, form altogether a beautiful picture.” (See “The State Agricultural Fair,” Daily Alta California, vol. V, no. 277, 10/06/1854, p. 2.)

Building Notes

A plaque honoring California Historical Landmark #861 was placed at 269 Bush Street to commemorate the "First California State Fair Site," held at Meiggs' Music Hall in 1854.

Demolition

Meiggs's Musical Hall likely disappeared before about 1860, when another building, Platt's Hall (aka the "New Music Hall,") opened on the same site, the southeast corner of Montgomery and Bush Streets.

PCAD id: 24932