The Warfield

The Warfield Theatre, colloquially called The Warfield, is a 2,454 capacity event venue located in the Theatre District in downtown San Francisco, California, United States. It was built as a vaudeville theater and opened as the Loews Warfield on May 13, 1922.

In the 1920s, The Warfield was a popular location that featured vaudeville and other major performances, such as Al Jolson, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Chaplin. The theater opened as the Loews Warfield, named after David Warfield. It later became known as the Fox Warfield. New life came to the Warfield in 1979 when Bob Dylan played 14 shows at the start of his first Gospel Tour in November 1979, and again 12 shows in November 1980 during his "A Musical Retrospective Tour". The Warfield had an appeal as a rock concert venue because it has more intimacy and better sound quality than an arena, yet has an occupancy of over 2,000 persons. Like many historic theaters, its main floor had the seats removed in the 1980s for general admission and dancing. Prior to the removal of the seats, Joe Strummer of The Clash once refused to play unless the first two rows of seats were removed to allow for dancing. It is a favorite venue for performance among many entertainers. In 1980, the Grateful Dead played 15 sold-out shows there, featuring both an acoustic and two electric sets. The shows were a celebration of the band's 15th anniversary and done as a show of appreciation for their loyal fans.