The Warfield
If you believe that historic buildings have soul, then you have been surrounded by it at The Warfield theatre in San Francisco. This grand dame of a theatre opened May 13, 1922. It was built by showman and theatre chain owner Marcus Loew, who named the showplace after his old friend David Warfield, a native San Franciscan who began as an usher and grew to be one of the greatest silent film actors of his time. The Warfield was built as a vaudeville and movie palace. Originally called Loew’s Warfield, it became the 300th theater in mogul Marcus Loew’s growing theater chain. All of the big names in entertainment played on The Warfield’s stage, including Al Jolson, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Chaplin. Even then there were some “dog” shows with the likes of Rin Tin Tin. New Life came to the Warfield in 1979 when Bob Dylan played a two-week run of shows. The venerable hall has been rocking ever since.
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