Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre stands on Market Street as a reminder of the era when San Francisco was a primary destination for vaudeville circuit performers. It first opened its doors in 1926 under the name Pantages Theatre, named after the prolific vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages. He was a businessman who prioritized opulence in his theaters while carefully managing his construction budgets, once famously remarking that anyone could make a place look expensive by spending a fortune, but true skill lay in achieving the same result with half as much.