Like a great movie, the Strand Theater’s first act was full of promise. Built in 1917 on San Francisco’s famed Market Street, the Strand began life as a silent movie house called the Jewel before transitioning into a regular movie theater through the mid-20th century...
Thanks to a comprehensive renovation, however, the Strand is now poised for its third-act happy ending. It now serves as the second performance venue and an education center for the non-profit American Conservatory Theater (ACT). As San Francisco’s most prominent theater company, ACT’s primary performance space is a landmark building in Union Square called the Geary Theater, which dates to 1910. The luxe main theater seats more than 1,000 people and is a thriving part of the city’s urban fabric. This sense of history and urban connection would inform the renovation of the Strand, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP's San Francisco office...