As noted above, Irving Morrow and William Garren were the architects. They were not major players in the local theatre scene. I know of only one other theatre by them: the San Mateo (1925), the first Art Deco theatre in the US, and maybe the first Deco building of any kind. Morrow, better known as a critic than as an architect, went on to better things: he is generally credited with the detailing on the Golden Gate Bridge. His wife, Gertrude Comfort Morrow, also an architect, is alleged to have suggested the “International Orange” color. For pix of some of her residential work, see the Arcadia book on West Portal.
An early drawing of the whole site, which extended to the exit alley on West Portal, shows a courtyard in place of the lobby and the stage at the Vicente St. end. The entrance should have been on the corner, but that would have entailed more excavation than the developers were willing to pay for.
Of all the theatres my family was asssociated with over 80 years, the Empire is the only one still showing movies. A couple of years ago I was in it for the first time since 1974. Aud. 1 is passable; the rest is dreck.
The West Portal/Empire was NOT built for S. H. Levin. There were two Levin circuits in SF: my family’s was the other. My grandfather was known as H. S. Levin, which may be the root of this confusion. We operated the house from openng until 1974. In 1936 the interior was completely made over and the name was changed to Empire. Just after WWII the back wall was pushed out to Vicente St, adding about 200 seats. The auditorium was rececorated by Heisbergen Studios in mural fashion. Most of this stuff survives behind the drapes and acoustical padding. With the lobby coming into the auditorium in the middle of the left wall, this was a hard house to work. The 1970 renovation took care of most of the hassle, but left the place totally charmless. I worked there for many years, and I still miss it.
As noted above, Irving Morrow and William Garren were the architects. They were not major players in the local theatre scene. I know of only one other theatre by them: the San Mateo (1925), the first Art Deco theatre in the US, and maybe the first Deco building of any kind. Morrow, better known as a critic than as an architect, went on to better things: he is generally credited with the detailing on the Golden Gate Bridge. His wife, Gertrude Comfort Morrow, also an architect, is alleged to have suggested the “International Orange” color. For pix of some of her residential work, see the Arcadia book on West Portal.
An early drawing of the whole site, which extended to the exit alley on West Portal, shows a courtyard in place of the lobby and the stage at the Vicente St. end. The entrance should have been on the corner, but that would have entailed more excavation than the developers were willing to pay for.
Of all the theatres my family was asssociated with over 80 years, the Empire is the only one still showing movies. A couple of years ago I was in it for the first time since 1974. Aud. 1 is passable; the rest is dreck.
The West Portal/Empire was NOT built for S. H. Levin. There were two Levin circuits in SF: my family’s was the other. My grandfather was known as H. S. Levin, which may be the root of this confusion. We operated the house from openng until 1974. In 1936 the interior was completely made over and the name was changed to Empire. Just after WWII the back wall was pushed out to Vicente St, adding about 200 seats. The auditorium was rececorated by Heisbergen Studios in mural fashion. Most of this stuff survives behind the drapes and acoustical padding. With the lobby coming into the auditorium in the middle of the left wall, this was a hard house to work. The 1970 renovation took care of most of the hassle, but left the place totally charmless. I worked there for many years, and I still miss it.