The Curran Theatre

The Curran Theatre opened its doors in September 1922, commissioned by the prolific producer Homer Curran to be a grand, Broadway-style palace on the West Coast. Architect Alfred Henry Jacobs designed the venue with Beaux-Arts symmetry and an ornate interior that was intended to rival the most prestigious playhouses in New York City. The building was a major financial undertaking, costing eight hundred thousand dollars to construct at a time when that sum was considered a massive investment for a single performance space. Today, the theatre stands as a landmark of San Francisco culture, having spent over a century hosting everything from pre-Broadway tryouts to world premieres that define American musical theatre.