National Theatre

Post Street and Steiner Street,
San Francisco, CA 94115

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Additional Info

Previous Names: New National Theatre

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National Theatre

The National Theatre was the first permanent theatre built by David and Sid Grauman in San Francisco after the loss of their two earlier theatres in the city as a result of the 1906 earthquake and fire. It was originally called the New National Theatre because the Grauman’s had operated a tent theater they called the National Theatre after the earthquake on the site of their destroyed Unique Theater, with equipment salvaged from their wrecked theatres.

The New National Theatre opened in late-1907 or early-1908 and appears to have closed around 1917 when the Grauman’s sold their northern California theatres to Albert Zukor so they could focus on building their empire in Los Angeles. It is not clear how long the building lasted after the Grauman’s moved on, but it was certainly gone by 1928, when the famed Winterland (originally the Dreamland) Auditorium opened on the site.

Contributed by Christopher Walczak

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on May 18, 2012 at 5:12 am

There is a picture of the National Theatre on this webpage.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on May 18, 2012 at 10:39 am

Whoops – I meant Adolph, not Albert, Zukor.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 31, 2013 at 11:24 am

In late 1909, the National Theatre was being advertised in San Francisco newspapers as a Sullivan & Considine vaudeville house.

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