Cort Theatre (San Francisco)

The Cort Theatre, sometimes spelled Cort Theater, was a theatre in San Francisco, California, United States. Located at 64 Ellis Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood, it was designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb. One of the larger venues in San Francisco during its existence, the theater had a seating capacity of 1,845 people. The theatre was built under the leadership of impresario John Cort, and opened in 1911. The newly created San Francisco Symphony began performing at the theatre during its inaugural season in 1911, and continued to perform there until 1922.

Homer Curran had served as manager of the Cort Theatre under John Cort since it opened in September 1911. He bought out Cort's interest in the theatre in 1918, and the Cort Theatre was renamed the Curran Theatre in September of that year. Curran remained a financial investor in the theatre until selling his interest in December 1920 to raise capital to build his own theatre. That other theatre was also named the Curran Theatre and opened in 1922.

The old Curran Theatre was re-named the Century Theatre in September 1921. The theatre became the Morosco Theatre in April 1922 when the theatre was leased by theatrical producer Oliver Morosco, only to have its name changed back to the Century Theatre again the following November when the firm of Ackerman & Harris took over the lease. In June 1923 the theatre was rebranded a final time to the Capitol Theatre. It remained the Capitol Theatre until 1941 when the theatre closed permanently and was demolished. In the 1910s and 1920s the theatre was used as a venue for a variety of plays, musicals, operas, concerts, and silent film screenings, but in the 1930s it became a burlesque theatre establishment.