Fox Theatre
1350 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
1350 Market Street,
San Francisco,
CA
94102
40 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 176 comments found
Me too, Ken!… (Linden Carlton)
Hi Ken, Thank you for your quick response. I have been looking for this video for years. I used to have it. Everyone I ask either does not have it or has never heard of it. I would love to have a copy of it or by an original from somewhere. If you hear of anything, let me know. Thanks. here is my email
“The Fabulous Fox” 1929-1963 A Bartel-Thomsen Pictures Presentation Released 1988 Running time 28 minutes Color
‘Experience the elegance and grace of The World’s Finest Theater. Explore the lavishly decorated lobby, the magnificent 5,000 seat auditorium and hear the mighty Wurlitzer’
Does anyone know if there is any info about a VHS video documentary about the fox? I remember it had a section about the organ with Ev Nourse as well as the facade falling down at the end. What was the name of the video and where can I get it?
The sad thing about the San Francisco Fox not only was it one of the greatest theatres ever built in the United States along with the Roxy in New York it would have been a huge hit today.The three most successful theatres in the United States are the Detroit Fox, Atlanta Fox and the St Louis Fox. The San Francisco Fox was the grandest of them all. Had it survived it would have housed concerts, Broadway Shows and conventions.It would have been a great site for classic film and organ conerts.brucec
The bookings for the Fox in the 1960’s were not very good and the film studio was having financial difficulties so little wonder that National General wanted to drop this large house. Attendance and film production declined in the late 1950’s which hurt many theatres across the nation. The major studios now were only producing two event films a year presented at the long run roadshow reserved seat theatres with desired seating between 1200-1500. This left the Fox without the big fims they were playing such as the “Robe” a few years earlier. Its to bad that the Fox wasn’t divided into two theatres playing the roadshow fims which may have saved it from the wrecking ball and then could have been restored back at a later date. The balcony could have been turned into a second theatre without damaging the decor because it was such a large space. I wonder if anyone had thought about doing that at the time because the Golden Gate was divided two years later.brucec
I suspect that “Sampson” is a mangling of the name “Samson.” In December, 1962, the Fox Theatre ran a double bill of foreign-made exploitation movies, “Son of Samson” and “Prisoner of the Iron Mask,” which grossed $6,972 in its first and only week. A month later, in January, 1963, the Fox presented “Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World” paired with “Warriors Five,” for a gross of $10,531 in an engagement that lasted nine days…I’ve been doing a study of grosses reported in the appendix to Preston J. Kaufmann’s “Fox: The Last Word.” In 1962, which was the last full year that the theatre operated, the average weekly gross was $8,891. In 1961, the weekly average was $10,490, and in 1960 $9,247. Small wonder that National Theatres had to close the Fox.
What is a “Sampson movie?”
This is really facinating reading. My older brother and sister told me we saw a “Sampson” movie there which means I was 3 years old then.
Hard to believe there were once 2 dozen movie theaters between 4th & 10th on Market street. What a MAGICAL time that must have been. And so tragic that most all are gone. Sad.
Don’t forget the chain offered the theatre building to the city of San Francisco on a bond measure. The city would just have to buy the land the theatre sat on and they would get the theatre building. The citizens of San Francisco voted againist it. This was around the second round of property down sizing the chain did. On the East Coast they closed and razed the Famed Roxy Theatre in NYC.
The Fox was demolished nearly half a century ago. I think it’s a bit ridiculous to “try” the person or persons responsible at this late date. More than likely, they’re dead and buried, or close to it. But if you must have a name, the demolition announcement was made by Eugene V. Klein, who was president of National General Theatres at the time. Fox Theatre historian Preston Kaufmann once described Klein as a “former auto salesman turned theatre entrepeneur.”
what months in 1963? i remember driving by it when the stage was gone and the wrecking ball was demolishing the balcony seats. it was so vast to see it from the street. Sad
I wish someone would research it and could tell me who was the actual executive in charge that made the decision on behalf of National Theatres & Television Inc.. to demolish the Fox.
So many treasures, investments, large companies are demolished, bancrupted, or destroyed and you never know who the person is truly responsible and should be held accountable. only recently the government has focused in and the press has pin-pointed execs like ken lay (Enron and MCI Worldcom) that were the persons that made the decision.
Who was the man that made that decision. Thats what we need is a web site called “Executive held responsible”
Thanks again, Warren. I remember seeing the Fox from this vantage point in the former San Francisco Merchandise Mart building on the opposite side of Market Street. That building is no longer there, either. This photo must be from the same time as the street shot showing that pie shaped vacant corner lot.
In this aerial view circa 1955-60, the Fox Theatre can be seen in the foreground. The larger octagon-topped building behind the Fox is Civic Auditorium. Beyond and to the left is City Hall. Behind City Hall are the Opera House and Veterans Building:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/aerialfox.jpg
I have enjoyed looking at these slides in both formats. The color brings out the richness and suptious plushness of the interiors.
Bill, it’s a wonderful collection of photographs, but I’m sure that some will cause as much controversy as “colorized movies.” Many thanks for giving us the option to view them in the original B&W as well.
I will wait with baited breath!
I will wait with baited breath!
Recently, a dozen more high class negatives taken in 1929 of the Fox Theatre’s public rooms have been lent to me. Richard Apple has offered to post some of them on his web site, after the positives have been run through PhotoShop. They came from his father’s collection.
Bill Swain
OMG…thanks. Duh
I think that you mean that Thomas Lamb, architect of the Fox, would be very pleased. Charles Lamb was a revered English poet and essayist who died in 1834. I don’t know if they were related. Thomas Lamb was born in Scotland.
Thanks for the link, Bill. Richard’s access to information and details on this palace are unique, and his contributions are priceless, and very generous. Combined with the photos posted by Ken, there is a complete pictoral history of the building’s interiors as it stood before demolition. Charles Lamb would be very pleased.
Some of your viewers might be interested in Richard Apple’s excellent web site on the Fox Theatre.
He recently has posted a number of pictures that I reconstructed from old publicity photos, many of which were taken between May and July, 1929.
View link
More will be added from time to time, as they are completed. I would welcome your comments.
Bill Swain, San Francisco
The date of 1915 is definitely a mistake, not “perhaps.” The Fox started building in the spring of 1928 and opened in June, 1929. Someone should alert the USC archive, since such errors tend to become accepted as fact if not corrected.