 The Fillmore in 2010 | |
  The Fillmore Location within San Francisco Show map of San Francisco The Fillmore The Fillmore (California) Show map of California | |
| Former names | Majestic Hall |
|---|---|
| Address | 1805 Geary Boulevard |
| Location | San Francisco,California, United States |
| Coordinates | 37°47′03″N122°25′59″W / 37.784098°N 122.433132°W /37.784098; -122.433132 |
| Owner | Kortz/Bragin Family |
| Capacity | 1,315 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1912 |
| Website | |
| thefillmore | |
The Fillmore is a historicmusic venue inSan Francisco,California.
Built in 1912 and originally named theMajestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954.[1] It is inWestern Addition, on the edge of theFillmore District andUpper Fillmore neighborhood.
Since 2007, it has been operated byLive Nation, which has since named new clubs and renamed existing ones after the Fillmore.
The building which became The Fillmore was built in 1912 and initially housed the Majestic Hall and Academy of Dancing.[3] Its name was changed from the Majestic Hall in 1936 to theAmbassador Dance Hall. From 1939 to 1952, it operated as theAmbassador Roller Skating Rink.
"In 1954, Sullivan took over the lease on a dilapidated dance hall and roller rink named the Majestic Ballroom and christened it the Fillmore Auditorium, hosting integrated dances and booking the biggest names in Black music."[4] -SFGate
In 1954,Charles Sullivan, one of the most successful African-American businessmen in San Francisco at the time, started booking bands and renamed the venueThe Fillmore Auditorium. He was the first to allow black attendees there. Charles became the most successful concert promoter on the west coast introducing the biggest black acts to the San Francisco concert scene, such as James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, and more.[5] In December 1965, Sullivan letBill Graham use his dance hall permit to book a benefit for theSan Francisco Mime Troupe. After that Graham continued to book shows there on dates Sullivan wasn’t using the space.[1] In their contract agreement it was stated that Graham would take over the Fillmore if anything unforeseen happened to Sullivan. Sullivan was found shot to death in the early morning hours of 2 August 1966, at the age of 57,[6] the case was never solved even after Senator Diane Feinstein’s attempt to reopen the investigation.[7]
On May 27, 28, and 29, 1966,The Velvet Underground andNico played the Fillmore Auditorium as part ofAndy Warhol'sExploding Plastic Inevitableavant-garde multimedia show. Their light show engineer Danny Williams, who pioneered many of today's standard practices in rock music light shows, built a light system at the Fillmore that included stroboscopes, slides and film projections onstage. The system was partially inspired byJonas Mekas' earlier film projections at concerts held at The Cinematheque in New York. As conceived by Warhol and Williams, the show also included wild, free dancing both in the crowd and onstage. Although The Velvet Underground'sproto-punk aesthetics failed to resonate with the incipient San Franciscocounterculture, Graham retained Williams to build additional light systems. These innovations were to become part of the Fillmore Auditorium's prestige and image and served as the basis for the systems subsequently used at theFillmore East andFillmore West venues.
In the mid-1960s, the Fillmore Auditorium became the focal point forpsychedelic music and the counterculture in general, with such acts as theGrateful Dead,the Steve Miller Band,Jefferson Airplane,Quicksilver Messenger Service,Moby Grape,the Doors,Jimi Hendrix Experience,the Byrds,Big Brother and the Holding Company,Santana,Frank Zappa'sthe Mothers of Invention, and British actsthe Who,Cream, andPink Floyd all performing at the venue.[8] Besidesrock, Graham also featured non-rock acts such asLenny Bruce,Miles Davis,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Charles Lloyd,Aretha Franklin, andOtis Redding as well aspoetry readings. The Grateful Dead played a total of 51 concerts at the venue from 1965 through 1969.
B.B. King's well-received performances at the venue served to introduce many fans to the authentic sounds that inspired theblues rock subgenre. He subsequently became a countercultural icon, appearing at many rock festivals.[9] Albert King also played a series of well-received shows here in 1968, with one of them being released as his first live albumLive Wire/Blues Power. Eventually, two additional shows would be released asWednesday Night in San Francisco andThursday Night in San Francisco.
The venue was known for its ambience as well as for the musical performances, often with swirlinglight-show projections,strobe lights and uninhibited dancing. The cultural impact of the Fillmore was very large. It is referenced byHunter S. Thompson in his 1971 novelFear and Loathing in Las Vegas in a description of thecounterculture of the 1960s in theSan Francisco Bay Area.
In the summer of 1968, the continuing socioeconomic deterioration of the surrounding neighborhood and the modest capacity of the venue compelled Graham to abandon the Fillmore Auditorium only two years after his famous association with the venue commenced. That July, he assumed ownership of the Carousel Ballroom at nearby10 South Van Ness Avenue. The venue had been previously managed as a cooperative venture for several months by theGrateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and other Bay Area groups. The Carousel subsequently operated as theFillmore West, paralleling Graham'sFillmore East inNew York City'sEast Village. However, both venues were shuttered by Graham in July 1971 asarena bookings on popular music tours became increasingly prevalent.
For an indeterminate period from 1969 to 1970, the Fillmore Auditorium was operated by new management as theNew Old Fillmore; during this period, the Grateful Dead andThe Stooges performed notable engagements at the venue.
The original Fillmore location became a venue calledThe Elite Club. For several years in the early 1980s, punk promoters Paul Rat and Wes Robinson bookedpunk rock shows at this venue. Punk bands that performed at The Elite Club includeCrucifix,Discharge,45 Grave, FEAR,D.O.A,Verbal Abuse,Social Distortion,Bad Religion,[10]Black Flag,Bad Brains,Dead Kennedys,Red Rockers,T.S.O.L.,Flipper,Gang of Four, andPublic Image Ltd.[11]
The Fillmore reopened under Graham's management in the mid-1980s, but it was damaged and closed by theLoma Prieta earthquake of October 1989. After Graham died in ahelicopter crash in 1991, those close to him decided to carry out his final wish toretrofit and reopen the original Fillmore, which required much structural work. The Fillmore reopened on April 27, 1994, with the bandThe Smashing Pumpkins playing an unannounced surprise show, andPrimus playing the first official reopening show the following night. The Fillmore has once again become a San Francisco hot spot with frequent shows. For a standard show, the capacity of the Fillmore is 1,315 guests.
Since 2007, the Fillmore is leased and operated byLive Nation.[12]
Live Nation has since named several of its existing and new clubs after the Fillmore. This includes clubs inDenver,Detroit,Philadelphia, and the Fillmore at theJackie Gleason Theater inMiami Beach, Florida. The Fillmore Charlotte opened in June 2009.[13] A Fillmore in theWashington, D.C., suburb ofSilver Spring, Maryland, broke ground in 2010 and opened in late 2011. The 2,000-seat Fillmore New Orleans opened in 2019 on the second floor ofHarrah's New Orleans casino.[14] TheCentral, Minneapolis Fillmore venue opened in February 2020.[15]
The Fillmore brand was also attached toIrving Plaza inNew York City from 2007 to 2010.
| Venue name | Metro vicinity | Location | Address | Opened | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fillmore | San Francisco Bay Area | Fillmore District | 1805 Geary Blvd San Francisco,CA 94115-3519 | 1954 | 1,315 | Known as the "Elite Club" during the 1980s |
| Fillmore Auditorium | Denver Metro | Capitol Hill | 1510 Clarkson St Denver,CO 80210-2702 | February 1999 | 3,900 | Formerly known as the "Mammoth Events Center" |
| The Fillmore Detroit | Metro Detroit | Detroit Theatre District | 2115 Woodward Ave Detroit,MI 48201-3469 | June 13, 2007 | 2,900 | Formerly known as the "State Theatre", and the "Palms Theatre" |
| The Fillmore Miami Beach | Miami metropolitan area | City Center | 1700 Washington Ave Miami Beach,FL 33139-7540 | October 10, 2007 | 3,230 | Historically known as the "Jackie Gleason Theatre" |
| The Fillmore Charlotte | Metrolina | AvidxChange Music Factory | 820 Hamilton St Charlotte,NC 28206-2924 | June 19, 2009 | 2,000 | The smaller venue, "The Underground", seats 800 |
| The Fillmore Silver Spring | Washington metropolitan area | Downtown Silver Spring | 8656 Colesville Rd Silver Spring,MD 20910-3915 | September 8, 2011 | 2,000 | - |
| The Fillmore Philadelphia | Greater Philadelphia | Fishtown | 29 E Allen St Philadelphia,PA 19123-1753 | October 1, 2015 | 2,500 | The smaller venue, "The Foundry", seats 450, built in the formerAjax Metal Company Plant. |
| The Fillmore New Orleans | Greater New Orleans | Central Business Dist. | 6 Canal St New Orleans,LA 70130-1641 | February 18, 2019 | 2,200 | Located on the second floor ofHarrah's New Orleans.[16] |
| The Fillmore Minneapolis | Twin Cities | North Loop | 521 N 5th St Minneapolis,MN 55401-3366 | February 12, 2020 | 1,850 | Located nearTarget Field.[17] |
| Venue name | Metro vicinity | Location | Address | Opened | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fillmore West | San Francisco Bay Area | South of Market | 10 S Van Ness Ave San Francisco, CA 94103-1227 | 1968 | 3,000 | Closed in 1971 |
| Fillmore East | New York metropolitan area | East Village | 1052nd Ave New York City,NY 10003-8380 | 1968 | 2,654 | Closed in 1971 |
| The Fillmore at TLA | Greater Philadelphia | Queen Village | 334 South St Philadelphia, PA 19147-1536 | 2007 | 1,000 | Returned to its original name, "Theatre of Living Arts", in 2008 |
| Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza | New York metropolitan area | Union Square | 17 Irving Plaza New York City, NY 10003-2392 | 2007 | 1,200 | Returned to its original name, "Irving Plaza", in 2010 |
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The Fillmore is also well known for itspsychedelic concert posters by artists who in the 1960s includedWes Wilson andRick Griffin. Copies of the night's poster are given to fans free of charge as they exit selected, sold-out shows. A curated collection of these posters is on display in the mezzanine level of the auditorium today.
Other traditions are carried on to this day at the Fillmore in San Francisco. One is a large tub of free apples for concert goers positioned near the entrance. Another is a "greeter" who welcomes each guest as they enter with: "Welcome to the Fillmore!"
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