San Francisco Ballet continued to serve as the school's director until his retirement in 1975. In 1938, the company's first major production was "Coppélia", choreographed by Willam Christensen. In 1940, it staged "Swan Lake", the first time that the ballet was produced in its entirety by an American company. On Christmas Eve 1944, the company staged "Nutcracker"—the first complete production of Tchaikovsky's most popular piece ever danced in the United States. In 1942, San Francisco Opera Ballet split into two independent companies, ballet and opera. The ballet half was sold to Willam and Harold Christensen. Willam became artistic director, while Harold took on
San Francisco graft trials also went on strike. On May 7, 1907, what would later be called "Bloody Tuesday", six streetcars carrying armed guards attempted to leave the carbarn. An enraged mob threw rocks and bricks, gunfight erupts between guards and men shooting from nearby vacant lots. From inside carbarns, strikebreakers opened fire on crowd. Two dead, 20 wounded. The contract for handling the baggage for attendees of a national convention of the Epworth League in San Francisco was given to a non-union company. During the prior year, a union company was hired during another convention in San Francisco to handle the baggage, but