San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Location and Facility

Location and Facility

School began on Sacramento St. in 1917.

Moved to 1201 Ortega Street in 1956.

Moved to 50 Oak Street as of August 14, 2006.

School colors are blue and gold.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music offers music education in addition to community enrichment programs and world-class performances. This expansion of the school will dramatically increase its instructional and performance opportunities as well as its contribution to the cultural life of the Bay Area. The Oak Street facility almost doubles the square footage of the Conservatory's old site at Ortega Street in the largely residential Sunset District and positions the 84-year-old college of music in the arts nexus of San Francisco, amid Davies Symphony Hall, the War Memorial Opera House, new Asian Art Museum and other prominent arts-related venues and institutions.

Acquired around March 2000, the Conservatory's Civic Center location includes two existing buildings, 50 and 70 Oak Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin. With its historically significant facades and relatively sound structure, 50 Oak Street has been restored and reconfigured, while adjoining 70 Oak has been rebuilt in a complementary and contemporary design. Together almost 73,000 net square feet of space are available to accommodate the Conservatory's needs for acoustically correct studios, practice rooms and performance spaces as well as classrooms, offices and an expanded library.

"The space is a wonderful metaphor for the Conservatory's past and the future promise embodied by our students," said Colin Murdoch, Conservatory president. "When completed, the building will be a transfixing combination of historical architecture and contemporary new design," he said.

Among the facility's highlights is the innovative utilization of the existing grand ballroom with its elegant gilt columns and ornate 38' ceiling as the audience chamber for the new Concert Hall, augmented by state-of-the-art performance amenities. This Concert Hall seats up to 450; a new Recital Hall seats up to 160 and a smaller Salon seats up to 120.

The new Conservatory's library has almost tripled the square footage of the old library and faces an open rooftop terrace. The number of practice rooms has increased from 15 to 39 and the number of faculty offices has tripled. Contrasting areas of public and private spaces have been incorporated into the building, with a dramatic 3-story atrium lobby linking the main entrance to the performance halls. A new street-level entrance will facilitate access for people of all abilities to attend the 365-plus performances and events presented by the Conservatory each year.

The official dedication convocation of the 50 Oak Street building was dedicated on November 13, 2006. The approximate project cost is $80 million.