The Empress Theatre was designed and built as a vaudeville theatre, which opened late in 1910. The theatre was initially operated by Sid Grauman, with Sullivan and Considine.

The Empress Theatre became the St. Francis Theatre, which was a first-run motion picture house circa 1925.

The St. Francis Theatre was split into a twin-screen theatre in the 1970s, initially known as the St. Francis (lower theater) and the Baronet Theater (upper theater). By the mid-1970s, the twin auditoriums became known simply as the St. Francis I and St. Francis II.

The theatre closed late in October 2000, and the building still stands but it is vacant.

References: FilmYearBook-1926 p. 486; Tillmany-TheatresSF pp. 34, 36-38 : with additional information provided by Jason Balch.