City Of San Rafael Historic Sites
1333 Fourth Street - Gordon Block
ca. 1910, looking east down 4th Street in San Rafael from the corner of 4th and D Streets. On the left with the awning is Mahon House ("Casa Grande"). On the right is the Gordon Block and Opera House
This block of buildings includes the location of Gordon’s Opera House, which opened in 1879. It was built for Upton Gordon, who arrived in San Rafael in 1852, and over the next 17 years ran a saloon, a livery stable, a general merchandise store, and dabbled in real estate, banking, and politics.
The Opera House was the largest community hall in San Rafael, and the February 6, 1879 Marin Journal reported it had six stores on the ground floor, 18 rooms on the second floor “supplied with modern appliances for comfort & convenience”, a large hall, and “the feature of greatest public interest … the splendid opera house in the rear of the upper story.” The Opera House hosted vaudeville acts, concerts, political rallies, high school graduations and lectures as well as all varieties of entertainment. Gordon was a large man, and he boasted of ordering over 400 seats large enough for him to sit in, “which he cannot say of the theaters in the city.”
The Opera House was the largest community hall in San Rafael, and the February 6, 1879 Marin Journal reported it had six stores on the ground floor, 18 rooms on the second floor “supplied with modern appliances for comfort & convenience”, a large hall, and “the feature of greatest public interest … the splendid opera house in the rear of the upper story.” The Opera House hosted vaudeville acts, concerts, political rallies, high school graduations and lectures as well as all varieties of entertainment. Gordon was a large man, and he boasted of ordering over 400 seats large enough for him to sit in, “which he cannot say of the theaters in the city.”
From 1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
In the early 1900s, the venue adapted to the rise of moving pictures. Around 1902, it was renamed the Lyric, and by 1914, it was known as the Star Theater. Competition from newer, larger theaters on Fourth Street closed the Star, and the building once again became a community hall.
In the 1950s, the upper floors were converted to apartments.
The building is now the location of Artworks Downtown, a non-profit arts organization that provides studios, galleries, and other facilities for artists and the community. Explore the back of the building on D Street to discover the Susan Kirby Place, an oasis in downtown San Rafael.
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