San Francisco’s Top 10 : Performing Arts Venues

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  1. War Memorial Opera House and San Francisco Ballet

    The
    San Francisco Opera Company is the second largest in the country and
    performs from June to January. The excellent San Francisco Ballet, one
    of the nation’s oldest, mostly performs at the Opera House, too .

    • 301 Van Ness Ave

    • 415 864 3330




    War Memorial Opera House

  2. Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

    With
    performances from September to May, under the directorship of Michael
    Tilson Thomas, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performs in this
    modern structure with carefully modulated acoustics. Built in 1980, this
    curving, glass-fronted concert hall is loved and loathed in equal
    measure by San Franciscans. Its corner placement is set off by a Henry
    Moore bronze, which also has its share of detractors.

    • 201 Van Ness Ave

    • 415 864 6000




    Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall



    San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

  3. Masonic Auditorium

    Originally
    a Masonic Temple, built in 1957, this attractive structure, with its
    3,000-seat auditorium, is used as a venue for jazz performances,
    lectures, and readings, as well as conventions and seminars. Mosaics
    inside and out depict some of the tenets of Freemasonry.

    • 1111 California St

    • 415 776 4702

  4. Curran Theater

    Built
    in 1922, this is one of the grandest theaters in the city and a
    Registered National Historic Landmark. The interior is a fantasy of gold
    and carved wood, complemented by a vast chandelier and murals. Shows
    tend toward long-running Broadway hits.

  5. Golden Gate Theater

    This
    former movie house, designed with Moorish influences in the 1920s, is
    one of the larger mainstream theaters. Its usual offerings are traveling
    Broadway shows – more recently, hits imported from New York have
    included a revival of A Bronx Tale, starring Chaz Palminteri.

  6. Herbst Theater

    The
    smallest of the mainstream houses offers a mix of cabaret, comedy,
    dance, lectures, and concerts. It’s really just a recital hall, and the
    acoustics are not great, but the beautiful 1930s building is decorated
    with eight enormous Beaux-Arts murals that were executed for the 1915
    Pan-Pacific Exposition.

    Veterans’ Memorial Building

    • 401 Van Ness Ave

    • 415 392 4400

  7. Orpheum

    Originally a vaudeville house and then a movie theater, this is the historic spot where Hair
    was given its first West Coast performance some three decades ago –
    known locally as “the New York version of what happened here in San
    Francisco.” The theater, decorated in 1920s Moorish taste, now mostly
    stages Broadway shows.




    Orpheum

  8. American Conservatory Theater (ACT)

    Founded
    in the 1960s, San Francisco’s most important theater company is
    internationally respected and has produced premieres of a number of
    major plays. At the heart of ACT is one of the most acclaimed
    actor-training institutions in the nation – former students include
    Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Winona Ryder.

    Geary Theater

    • 415 Geary St

    • 415 749 2228

  9. Magic Theater

    In
    the 1970s, none other than Sam Shepard was the resident playwright of
    the Magic, and its stage has seen performances by the likes of Sean Penn
    and Nick Nolte. It specializes in bringing new plays to light, usually
    by up-and-coming Americans. It also offers “raw play” readings of as yet
    unstaged works.

    • Fort Mason Center, Bldg D

    • 415 441 8822

  10. Beach Blanket Babylon

    High
    camp and high head­dresses, along with jolly good singing by the
    veteran ensemble cast make this one of the joys of the city. It’s been
    zinging the heartstrings of lovers of San Francisco for more than a
    quarter of a century and shows no signs of flagging. The excuse for all
    this frivolity is the sending up of various notables, most of whom well
    deserve the good-natured ribbing.

    Club Fugazi

    • 678 Green St

    • 415 421 4222