The Russian Center of San Francisco was founded in 1939 by Russian immigrants as a focal point for the preservation of their rich cultural heritage. Tradition was passionately kept alive through operas, operettas, choirs, grand balls, folk dance ensembles and plays. Generation followed generation, and still the goal remains to preserve and display the warmth and spirit of the Russian culture.
As a non-profit cultural organization, the Russian Center annually produces many cultural activities including operas, dance concerts, folk dance classes, social gatherings and lectures. The Russian Festival, held every February, is a three day showcase of food, art, music and dance, and attracts thousands ofpeople from all over the San Francisco Bay Area and the world. The Russian Center is home to Teremok, a State certified Russian pre-school, Congress of Russian Americans, Museum of Russian Culture, Russian Life Daily Newspaper, a library of Russian books, Russian folk dancing classes, rhythmic gymnastic classes, Russian Center Opera Company and the Russian American Chamber Orchestra. The Russian Center co-sponsors the city-wide "Days of Russia" celebration. The Russian Center also presents many guest artists from Russia and other parts of the world.
The Russian Center building at 2450 Sutter Street boasts a 550+ seat ballroom/theater with a proscenium stage at theater level, a full gymnasium, dance studio, office and restaurant space and meeting rooms. The building, which was built in 1911, has been remodeled to meet seismic and accessibility requirements while keeping true to the original architectural style.
The Russian American community invites you to its home. Whether for a dance class, a wedding, a concert, our Russian Festival, a sports event or a meeting, we hope you will enjoy our Center and be filled with a bit of warmth and fellowship that is the Russian spirit