Marin History Museum

City Of San Rafael Historic Sites

1118 Fourth Street - Orpheus/Rafael Theater

Orpheus Theatre, ca. 1920s

On January 21, 1920, the Orpheus Theatre opened to a packed audience of 1300 patrons, featuring a $20,000 Seehurg-Smith pipe organ, its pipes positioned high on either side of the walls, allowing their rich tones to carry more distinctly across the theater.

The Orpheus theater held many events through the course of its 17 years, including a church benefit in 1920 wherein Father McQuaid discussed his service in World War I and the Philippine War; a vaudeville show in 1922 consisting of two comedy acts on top of the weekly program; top feature films; and the graduation of the class of 1922 from San Rafael High School. Before long, eight other movie theaters opened along Fourth Street.

On November 29, 1937, a fire destroyed the interior of the Orpheus Theatre. Just six months later, the theater was rebuilt and opened as The Rafael in the Art Deco style. For decades it continued to show movies until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused extensive damage to the theater, forcing it to close.

Rafael Theater, ca. 1980s

It stood empty until 1994, when the San Rafael Redevelopment Agency and Film Institute of Northern California raised money to renovate the old theater. In 1999, it reopened as the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, screening independent films and hosting the annual Mill Valley Film Festival.

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