The San Francisco call., 1909-12-30
PLAYHOUSE OFFERS
UNUSUAL COMFORT
New Columbia Theater Will Be
Opened January 10 With
Comedy by Ade
w. II. Crane and Strong COm=
w. H. Crane and Strong Com
pany Will Present Father
and the Boys"

The most important event in the
month of January will be. no doubt,
the opening of the new Columbia thea
ter by Gottlob, Marx & CO., with Will
liam H. Crane and a strong supporting
cast in "Father and the Boys" George
Ade comedy.
The new theater. is a class A struc-
ture and represents an investment in
ground and building of more than
$500, ,000.. The front of the building is
finished in granite and terra Gotta. A
large lobby finished in white stone In
vites the theater goer Through large
portals and precludes the possibility
of crowding. Separate entrances lead
to balcony and gallery.
IN SHOPPING DISTRICT
The selection of the site is happy
one. The new theater stands in the
heart of the new shopping and hotel
district, one block west of the st. Fran
els, and is approachable by convenient
car lines from all parts of the city,
being located at the corner OF Geary
and Mason streets.
feature of the new theater is it's
cosyness. There are only eighteen rows
of seats on the first floor and spec
tator in the last row will be only 90
feet away from the footlights' rim. The
seating capacity of the lower floor is
only 577 and an unobstructed view is
to be had from any reservation. NO
posts will interfere.
There are six boxes on each side of
the stage so arranged to. give occupants
a perfect view of the performance.
FEATURES OF BUILDING
in
stalled in the basement assures a sup
ply of pure air heated or colled to the
desired degree. Retiring rooms for
women and smoking room for men
are arranged on the lower and upper
floors, and there will be maids in at
tendance in the women's rooms.
feature of the building which will
be greatly enjoyed by the players is
the brick annex which faces Mason
street. 1t is luxurious in it's appoint
ments, like a modern hotel, and con-
tains 20 dressing rooms, eomodious,
well lighted and comfortable.
The stage is the largest in the city.
1t is as by 81 feet, which makes it
nearly as large as the stage of the
size to present the most elaborate of
scenic productions
Arthur +. Mathews is responsible for
the magnificent curtain as we'll as for
the interior decorations of the play
house.
AUCTION Of SEATS
1t is announced by Gottlob, Marx &
Go. that the auction sale of seats for
the opening night will start promptly
at 1:S0 O'Clock, Tuesday afternoon, jan
uary 4, in the ballroom of the ST Fran
els hotel. Auctioneer Larry Harris
will dispose of the various reservations
and the premiums paid, over the reg
ular cost of the seats, will be de-
voted to charity.
Huge charts displaying the seating
plan of the new theater will be hung
on the walls of the ballroom and each
bidder will know exactly the location
of the seats he is bidding for
Indications, from a multitude of let
ters received by the management, point
to a lively contest for seats when the
auction opens.
SURPLUS FOR CHARITY
Five charitable institutions will share
equally in the proceeds of this sale
and large sum of money will doubt
less be the result of the bidding
Cranes engagement is for two weeks.
beginning January 10, with matinees
on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The
regular advance sale of seats will
open week from today at the box
office of the new Columbia