Winterland Ballroom

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Lore & Background

The building's history began on a specific plot of land previously occupied by the Dreamland Rink, situated midway on the west side of Steiner between Post and Sutter, and Sid Grauman's National Theatre at the corner of Post and Steiner. Built for $1 million (equivalent to $17.8 million in 2025), it successfully operated through the Great Depression after its name changed to Winterland in the late 1930s. In 1936, it began hosting the Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies, and in November 1944, impresario Clifford C. Fischer staged an authorized production of "Folies Bergère" there. The transition to a music venue began on September 23, 1966, when Bill Graham rented it for a double bill featuring Jefferson Airplane and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After closing Fillmore West in 1971, Graham held regular weekend shows at Winterland, creating a hub where legendary acts performed. Notably, Led Zeppelin debuted 'Whole Lotta Love' live on April 24, 1969, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, not at Winterland. On New Year's Eve 1975, the Grateful Dead headlined, with The Tubes also on the bill but not as co-headliners; Flo and Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan) were not part of that night's lineup.

In Their Own Story

The Grateful Dead treated this venue as their true home base. Between March 3, 1967, and December 31, 1978, they performed there 73 times, a frequency unmatched by any other act. The culmination of this residency occurred on New Year's Eve 1978 / New Year's Day 1979. The final show featured the Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Blues Brothers, lasting over eight hours in total. The Dead's set alone ran nearly six hours, beginning exactly at midnight with Bill Graham's favorite song, "Sugar Magnolia." After the music stopped, the crowd was treated to a hot, buffet-style champagne breakfast. This historic event was simulcast live on radio station KSAN-FM and local PBS TV station KQED. The Grateful Dead documented this final night in a film titled "The Closing of Winterland," which stands alongside "The Last Waltz" (filmed at the same venue in 1976) as one of the era's most significant concert films.

Reader's Guide

For fans tracking the live evolution of rock, Winterland offers critical archival material. Peter Frampton recorded parts of "Frampton Comes Alive!", the fourth-best-selling live album of all time, at this location. The Band played their final show there on Thanksgiving Day 1976; filmed by Martin Scorsese and released as "The Last Waltz," it featured guests including Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. The Sex Pistols also made history here with their final performance on January 14, 1978. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played two nights on December 15–16, 1978; his December 15 show was broadcast on KSAN-FM, and both concerts were later released in full as part of his archive series on December 20, 2019. Other notable live recordings include Cream's "Wheels of Fire" (originally mislabeled as Fillmore), Jimi Hendrix's various Winterland sets, and Jefferson Airplane's "Thirty Seconds Over Winterland." The venue was eventually razed in 1985 and replaced by apartments.

Did You Know?

• The building cost $1 million to build in 1928, which is equivalent to $17.8 million in 2025.
• Bill Graham began renting the venue on September 23, 1966, for a double bill of Jefferson Airplane and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
• The Grateful Dead played exactly 74 times at Winterland between March 3, 1967, and December 31, 1978.
• The final show on New Year's Eve 1978 lasted over eight hours, with the Grateful Dead performing for nearly six hours starting around 10:30 PM and playing through midnight.
• Led Zeppelin debuted 'Whole Lotta Love' live on April 24, 1969, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, not at Winterland.