Comments about American Theatre in San Francisco, CA

hdtv267 on December 18, 2012 at 1:24 am

So if this venue was torn down, why is the status showing as closed?

Joe Vogel on December 17, 2012 at 2:18 pm

The Fillmore Street location of the Chutes Amusement Park didn’t fade into history so much as vanish overnight, as most of it was destroyed in a memorable blaze on the morning of May 29, 1911, a little over two years after it had opened. The park had sported both a movie theater and a vaudeville house, and I’m not sure which of the two it was that survived to become the Lyric. The July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World had a paragraph about the house in an article about San Francisco’s movie theaters:

“The Lyric theater on Fillmore street, between Turk and Eddy, was erected several years ago, but only recently was devoted to moving pictures. This house was formerly a part of the Chutes and after that amusement enterprise went out of business was dark for a long time. It was recently turned around at a heavy expense and an entrance installed from Fillmore. It has a seating capacity of 1,100 and is conducted by Ackerman & Harris, under the management of Charles Cole.”

A few years after the reopening, the Lyric was again remodeled. The February 14, 1920, issue of Domestic Engineering ran this item:

“Architects Reid Bros, are planning alterations on a motion picture theater at 1226 Fillmore Street. The improvements will cost $20,000 and will include new plumbing and ventilating systems.”