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Rare Art Deco Pflueger-Attributed Chandeliers from the Metro Theatre, San Francisco
Rare Pflueger-Attributed Chandeliers from the Metro Theatre, San Francisco
For sale, two authentic chandeliers, removed from the historic Metro Theatre on Union Street in San Francisco, represent one of the rarest opportunities to acquire original fixtures connected to the city’s golden era of movie palaces. The Metro Theatre, first built in 1924 by Samuel Levin, was dramatically redesigned in 1941 by Otto Deichmann and Timothy Pflueger, two of the Bay Area’s most important architects and designers of the period. Both were central figures in the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, even appearing together in Diego Rivera’s celebrated mural created for the fair.
Pflueger’s influence is especially visible in these chandeliers: his hallmark combination of metal and etched glass, already seen in his commissions for the Paramount, Castro, and Alameda Theatres, is fully expressed in their bold, streamlined forms. His well-known practice of controlling every architectural and decorative detail is unmistakable here.
Measuring an impressive 48 inches wide by 60 inches tall, these fixtures are monumental examples of San Francisco’s mid-century theater culture. Two chandeliers are being offered, both in excellent condition. Their provenance is beyond question, I personally supervised their removal during the Metro’s later renovations, ensuring their preservation and documenting their full history. Shown in the accompanying images, including their last installation in my Oakland showroom, they stand as rare survivors of a vanished chapter in the city’s cultural life. For any serious collector, preservationist, or institution undertaking a restoration project, these chandeliers offer a once-in-a-generation chance to own pieces tied directly to Pflueger’s vision and to San Francisco’s architectural legacy. Opportunities like this surface only rarely, making them an extraordinary acquisition.
For serious collectors and institutions, these chandeliers present far more than decorative appeal, they embody a cultural and architectural legacy. Timothy Pflueger remains one of the most celebrated architects of San Francisco’s Art Deco and Moderne period, with theaters like the Paramount, Castro, and Alameda standing as landmarks of design innovation. His fixtures were never secondary details but carefully conceived elements of a total vision, and surviving examples outside of their original interiors are extremely scarce. These Metro Theatre chandeliers, with their documented provenance and impressive scale, provide a tangible link to the golden era of Bay Area movie palaces and the creative energy of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.
