San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

The San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center is located in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It covers 7.5 acres in the Civic Center Historic District, and totals 7,500 seats among its venues.Performing artsOpera, symphony, modern and classical dance, theatre, recitals, plays, lectures, meetings, receptions, special screenings, and gala events all have a place and occur at the Center.HistoryThe complex was developed in the 1920s on two blocks on Van Ness Avenue facing San Francisco City Hall from the west. The "War Memorial" name commemorates all the people who served in the First World War, which ended seven years before the project commenced. It was designed by Arthur Brown Jr in 1927-1928, and is one of the last Beaux-Arts style structures erected in the United States. The project resulted in the construction of a matched pair of buildings across a formal courtyard park: the War Memorial Opera House; and the multi-purpose Veterans Building next door. Both were completed and opened in 1932.