What a comeback: this 1917 theater has shed its 1970s porn-palace notoriety and reclaimed the limelight as the American Conservatory Theater venue for commissioned pieces by cutting-edge playwrights – though the scarlet decor winks knowingly at its red-light past. Upstairs is a prime performance space for jazz and cabaret, with vast windows letting in moonlight and the Strand's neon marquee glow.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.79 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
1.52 MILES
Hedonism is alive and well at this transit hub turned gourmet emporium, where foodies happily miss their ferries over Sonoma oysters and bubbly, SF craft…
3.28 MILES
Alcatraz: for over 150 years, the name has given the innocent chills and the guilty cold sweats. Over the decades, it’s been a military prison, a…
1.67 MILES
Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia? At San Francisco's hands-on science museum, you'll find out…
1.94 MILES
Since at least the 1980s, if you stroll through San Francisco's Mission District you've likely noticed the neighborhood's profusion of colorful murals and…
11.71 MILES
Muir Woods National Monument is located just a few miles north of San Francisco in Marin County, and is a prime peaceful destination for reflection within…
2.03 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
1.09 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
Nearby attractions
0.04 MILES
This brick-paved triangle with an often-dry fountain awkwardly commemorates the signing of the UN charter in San Francisco. Most days, UN Plaza offers…
0.06 MILES
The groundbreaking green design of this government-office building by 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Thom Mayne means major savings in energy –…
0.13 MILES
Get back to your creative roots at this arts nonprofit, which hosts curated shows on themes ranging from garden art to calligraphy made with human-hair…
0.17 MILES
A grand light well illuminates SF's favorite subjects: poetry in the Robert Frost Collection, civil rights in the Hormel LGBTQIA Center, SF music zines in…
0.18 MILES
Imaginations race from subtle Chinese ink paintings to seductive Hindu temple carvings and from elegant Islamic calligraphy to cutting-edge Japanese…
0.18 MILES
Since 1974, this nonprofit art organization has championed experimental photo-based imagery beyond classic B&W prints and casual digital snapshots. Since…
0.19 MILES
Like a dandelion pushing through sidewalk cracks, this plucky nonprofit gallery has brought signs of life to one of the Tenderloin's toughest blocks for…
8. Compton’s Transgender Cultural District
0.25 MILES
The world's first legally recognized transgender district was created to commemorate historical sites and preserve existing non-profits, businesses and…