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Photo: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This 7.5 acre complex comprises the War Memorial Opera House, Memorial Court, the War Memorial Veterans Building (including Herbst Theatre and the Green Room, which is a classically styled reception hall), the Harold L. Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall, and Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The opera house and the veterans buildings (which are for the most part identical), along with the court, were intended to be appreciated in unison, and to complement the surrounding architecture of the Civic Center. Their "Beaux-Arts" structures employ the Roman Doric Order and were designed by architect Arthur Brown, Jr. Both buildings were completed in 1932. Guided tours of the buildings are available.
The San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center (SFWMPAC) is located in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It covers 7.5 acres in the Civic Center Historic District, and totals 7,500 seats among its venues.
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Herbst Theater, next to the Opera house in the similarly-styled War Memorial Veteran's building is host to a wide variety of activities. One can find plays, readings by well-known authors, chamber music, jazz performances, etc throughout the year. The monthly Friday evening talks of the Long-now Foundation, projecting the far future, are presented here or in the Fort Mason Center. Inside the theater it has impressive foyer, chandeliers, beaux-arts murals (symbolism for the different aspects of mankind), and over 900 seats. The UN Charter was signed here in 1945.
The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery supports a diverse range of Bay Area "Visual Art" culture by supporting artists projects through collaboration with community organizations, commissioning contemporary art, and curated exhibitions. They also have display art in Cafe Valor in the Veterans Building lobby, as well as in City Hall.
The repertory season begins in January and continues through May.
There are Fall, Spring, and Summer seasons. The summer season focuses on lighter and popular operas. Performances are in the War Memorial Opera House on Van Ness Ave which has over 3,000 seats. The interior has a grandiose entrance hall with marble floors and a 38 foot high barrel vaulted ceiling. Two wide marble stairways at either end of the foyer, take you up to the main floor. The proscenium arch inside the theater is ornately decorated with gilded sculptures. In December and late spring the Opera House is used by the San Francisco Ballet.
Designed by Arthur Brown Jr., and opened in 1915, the architecture of the building was heavily influenced by the "City Beautiful Movement," which in turn reflected the American Renaissance style of the time. Its "Beaux-Arts" dome (the fifth largest in the world) was modeled after that of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy. The building itself is huge, 393 feet long, by 273 feet wide, and 307 feet high — occupying a full two blocks of San Francisco's downtown real estate. It is considered by many admirers to be the most impressive building in the city. Inside, it features a large rotunda with a grandiose staircase leading up to the second floor. The walls are adorned with oak paneling and the ceilings with crystal chandeliers. City Hall is the site of much history — In 1954 Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe wed here. In 1978, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated here by their coworker Dan White, who snuck a gun through a window. And, it was here that in 2004, Mayor Newsom unilaterally declared the legality of gay marriage, before being thwarted by state and federal power.
This bronze sculpture was created by English artist Henry Moore in 1973. It poses happily outside Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.