War Memorial Performing Arts Center

This complex includes Davies Symphony Hall, the Opera House and Herbst Theater, three famed San Francisco venues that form the cornerstone of the city’s performing arts scene. The War Memorial Opera House, completed in 1932, is one of the last examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States, its exterior accented with paired columns and arch-headed windows. Inside, beyond the grand entrance hall, the theater’s interior is decorated with an aluminum and glass panel chandelier and gilded figurative sculpture. Both the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet perform in this space in alternating seasons. Next door, Davies Symphony Hall is home to the world renowned San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. Completed in 1980, this modern concert hall features a “cloud” of movable convex acrylic panels that can be adjusted to optimize the acoustics for any performance. The complex’s third space is the jewel-toned jewelbox Herbst Theater, something of a “catch-all” stage for cultural performances like opera and symphony that doesn’t fit, due to space or content, at Davies Hall, the Opera House or nearby SF Jazz.