San Francisco - War Memorial Opera House

Like the Veterans' Building immediately north of it, the War Memorial Opera House, to the west of City Hall, was built in 1932 by Arthur Brown jr. Until 1980 the San Francisco Opera (founded in 1923) shared the Opera House with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, as a result of which their respective seasons could only be short. In 1980 the Symphony Orchestra moved to the newly built Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.

The War Memorial Opera House and Veterans' Building were the venue for the Founding Assembly of the UN. The charter setting up the "World Parliament" was signed on the stage of the Opera House by the representatives of 43 nations on June 26th 1945. United Nations Plaza, a square at the east end of the Civic Center, commemorates this historic event.

The San Francisco Opera runs 12 productions each year, from September through December.