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{{Short description|Historic music venue in San Francisco, California}}{{About|the pre-1968 San Francisco music venue|the post-1968 successor venue|Fillmore West|the San Francisco neighborhood|Fillmore District|other venues named Fillmore|Fillmore (disambiguation)}}

factoids

| pushpin_map = United States San Francisco Central#California| type = | genre = | built = 1912| opened = | renovated = | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | owner = Kortz/Bragin Family| construction_cost = | former_names = Majestic Hall| seating_type = | seating_capacity = 1,315weblink}}}}The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California.Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954.BOOK, Pepin, Elizabeth,weblink Harlem of the West, 2006, Chronicle Books, 9780811845489, San Francisco, 126, It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillmore neighborhood.Since 2007, it has been operated by Live Nation, which has since named new clubs and renamed existing ones after the Fillmore.(File:Jefferson airplane fillmore poster 1966.jpg|thumb|150px|Jefferson Airplane Fillmore poster, February 1966. This was the first non-benefit concert held at the venue.WEB,weblink Fillmore History, The Fillmore (now defunct website), 13 June 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060505222636weblink">weblink 5 May 2006, )

History

The building which became The Fillmore was built in 1912 and initially housed the Majestic Hall and Academy of Dancing. Its name was changed from the Majestic Hall in 1936 to the Ambassador Dance Hall. From 1939 to 1952, it operated as the Ambassador Roller Skating Rink. In 1954, Charles Sullivan, one of the most successful African-American businessmen in San Francisco at the time, started booking bands and renamed the venue The 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, Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, and more. In December 1965, Sullivan let Bill Graham use his dance hall permit to book a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe.After that Graham continued to book shows there on dates Sullivan wasn’t using the space. In their contract agreement it was stated that Graham would take over the Fillmore if anything unforeseen happened to Sullivan. Sullivan was murdered in August 1966 at the age of 57, the case was never solved even after Senator Diane Feinstein’s attempt to reopen the investigation. NEWS, Who Shot the Mayor of Fillmore? On May 27, 28, and 29, 1966, The Velvet Underground and Nico played the Fillmore Auditorium as part of Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable avant-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 by Jonas 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's proto-punk aesthetics failed to resonate with the incipient San Francisco counterculture, 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 the Fillmore East and Fillmore West venues.In the mid-1960s, the Fillmore Auditorium became the focal point for psychedelic music and the counterculture in general, with such acts as the Grateful 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's the Mothers of Invention, and British acts the Who, Cream, and Pink Floyd all performing at the venue.WEB, Concert Vault,weblink Wolfgang's Vault, 2010, 2010-04-06, 2009-09-07,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090907105353weblink">weblink dead, Besides rock, Graham also featured non-rock acts such as Lenny Bruce, Miles Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Charles Lloyd, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding as well as poetry 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 the blues rock subgenre. He subsequently became a countercultural icon, appearing at many rock festivals.B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Centerweblink Albert King also played a series of well-received shows here in 1968, with one of them being released as his first live album "Live/Wire Blues." Eventually, two additional shows would be released as "Wednesday Night in San Francisco" and "Thursday Night in San Francisco."The venue was known for its ambience as well as for the musical performances, often with swirling light-show projections, strobe lights and uninhibited dancing. The cultural impact of the Fillmore was very large. It is referenced by Hunter S. Thompson in his 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in a description of the counterculture of the 1960s in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Fillmore West, Fillmore East and the New Old Fillmore

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 nearby 10 South Van Ness Avenue. The venue had been previously managed as a cooperative venture for several months by the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and other Bay Area groups. The Carousel subsequently operated as the Fillmore West, paralleling Graham's Fillmore East in New York City's East Village. However, both venues were shuttered by Graham in July 1971 as arena 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 the New Old Fillmore; during this period, the Grateful Dead and The Stooges performed notable engagements at the venue.

The Elite Club

The original Fillmore location became a venue called The Elite Club. For several years in the early 1980s, punk promoters Paul Rat and Wes Robinson booked punk rock shows at this venue. Punk bands that performed at The Elite Club include Crucifix, Discharge, 45 Grave, FEAR, D.O.A, Verbal Abuse, Social Distortion, Bad Religion,WEB,weblink 04/16/1982 - San Francisco, CA | Tours & shows | The Bad Religion Page - Since 1995, Thebrpage.net, 2013-10-19, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Red Rockers, T.S.O.L., Flipper, Gang of Four, and Public Image Ltd.WEB, Fillmore History,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060505222912weblink">weblink Bill Graham Presents, 2005, 2006-05-05, 2010-04-06,

Reopening and national franchise

The Fillmore reopened under Graham's management in the mid-1980s, but it was damaged and closed by the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 1989. After Graham died in a helicopter crash in 1991, those close to him decided to carry out his final wish to retrofit and reopen the original Fillmore, which required much structural work. The Fillmore reopened on April 27, 1994, with the band The Smashing Pumpkins playing an unannounced surprise show, and Primus 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 by Live Nation.WEB, Jason Koebler, Live Wire: What the Fillmore in Silver Spring Could Mean for Local Clubs, 16 September 2011,weblink Live Nation has since named several of its existing and new clubs after the Fillmore. This includes clubs in Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, and the Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach, Florida. The Fillmore Charlotte opened in June 2009.NEWS, Staff writers, Hendrick to build Fillmore Music Hall,weblink The Charlotte Business Journal, February 18, 2009, 2010-04-06, A Fillmore in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver 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 of Harrah's New Orleans casino.WEB, Fillmore New Orleans music club opening at Harrah's in 2019,weblink nola.com, The Times-Picayune, 26 June 2018, The Central, Minneapolis Fillmore venue opened in February 2020.“Entertainment complex near Target Field would include Fillmore music theater”; June 13, 2017 article; Minneapolis Star Tribune; retrieved June 13, 2017.The Fillmore brand was also attached to Irving Plaza in New York City from 2007 to 2010.

Locations

Current{|border"1" class"wikitable"

Venue nameMetro vicinityLocationAddressOpenedCapacityNotes|The Fillmore|San Francisco Bay AreaFillmore District, San Francisco>Fillmore DistrictSan Francisco, California>CA 94115-3519|1954|1,315|Known as the "Elite Club" during the 1980sFillmore Auditorium (Denver)>Fillmore AuditoriumDenver metropolitan area>Denver MetroCapitol Hill (Denver)>Capitol HillDenver, Colorado>CO 80210-2702|February 1999|3,900|Formerly known as the "Mammoth Events Center"|The Fillmore Detroit|Metro DetroitPerforming arts in Detroit>Detroit Theatre DistrictDetroit, Michigan>MI 48201-3469|June 13, 2007|2,900|Formerly known as the "State Theatre", and the "Palms Theatre"Miami Beach Convention Center#Fillmore Miami Beach>The Fillmore Miami Beach|Miami metropolitan areaCity Center (Miami Beach)>City CenterMiami Beach, Florida>Miami Beach, FL 33139-7540|October 10, 2007|3,230|Historically known as the "Jackie Gleason Theatre"AvidxChange Music Factory>The Fillmore CharlotteCharlotte metropolitan area>Metrolina|AvidxChange Music FactoryCharlotte, North Carolina>Charlotte, NC 28206-2924|June 19, 2009|2,000|The smaller venue, "The Underground", seats 800 |The Fillmore Silver Spring|Washington metropolitan areaSilver Spring, Maryland>Downtown Silver SpringSilver Spring, Maryland>Silver Spring, MD 20910-3915|September 8, 2011|2,000| - |The Fillmore PhiladelphiaDelaware Valley>Greater PhiladelphiaFishtown, Philadelphia>FishtownPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania>PA 19123-1753|October 1, 2015|2,500|The smaller venue, "The Foundry", seats 450, built in the former Ajax Metal Company Plant.|The Fillmore New Orleans|Greater New OrleansNew Orleans Central Business District>Central Business Dist.New Orleans, Louisiana>LA 70130-1641|February 18, 2019|2,200Harrah's New Orleans.HTTPS://WWW.NOLA.COM/NEWS/ARTICLE_59EBBB33-A097-5859-A76D-2DE40912E5F7.HTML LAST1=LARINO DATE=FEBRUARY 11, 2019 THE TIMES-PICAYUNE/THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE>THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ACCESS-DATE=AUGUST 14, 2019, |The Fillmore MinneapolisMinneapolis–Saint Paul>Twin CitiesNorth Loop, Minneapolis>North LoopMinneapolis, Minnesota>MN 55401-3366 |February 12, 2020|1,850Target Field.HTTP://WWW.STARTRIBUNE.COM/ENTERTAINMENT-COMPLEX-NEAR-TARGET-FIELD-WOULD-INCLUDE-FILLMORE-MUSIC-THEATER/428276763/ LAST=NORFLEET DATE=JUNE 14, 2017 STAR TRIBUNE >PUBLISHER=STAR TRIBUNE MEDIA COMPANY LLC, May 27, 2018, Venue name">

Former{|border"1" class"wikitable"Venue name

Metro vicinityLocationAddressOpenedCapacityNotes|Fillmore West|San Francisco Bay AreaSouth of Market, San Francisco>South of Market|10 S Van Ness AveSan Francisco, CA 94103-1227|1968|3,000|Closed in 1971 |Fillmore East|New York metropolitan areaEast Village, Manhattan>East VillageSecond Avenue (Manhattan)>2nd AveNew York City, NY 10003-8380|1968|2,654|Closed in 1971 The TLA>The Fillmore at TLA|Greater PhiladelphiaQueen Village, Philadelphia>Queen Village|334 South StPhiladelphia, PA 19147-1536|2007|1,000|Returned to its original name, "Theatre of Living Arts", in 2008Irving Plaza>Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza|New York metropolitan areaUnion Square, Manhattan>Union Square|17 Irving PlazaNew York City, NY 10003-2392|2007|1,200|Returned to its original name, "Irving Plaza", in 2010

Traditions

{{unreferenced|section|date=March 2024}}The Fillmore is also well known for its psychedelic concert posters by artists who in the 1960s included Wes Wilson and Rick 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!"

See also

• House of Blues

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

• "Fillmore San Francisco" official website
• Chronology of San Francisco Rock 1965–1969

{{Western Addition, San Francisco}}{{Live Nation}}{{San Francisco Attractions}}{{Authority control}}