U.S. Bar Where? When? Backstory?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : San Francisco History : One Thread

Hi

I have an old photo from 1929 of the U.S. bar. It is either closed or shut down at the date of the photo.

What is interesting is that behind the steel concertina gate is a pair of half doors like from the old West.

How old is/was this place and where was/is it?

I'd attach the photo if I knew how...

TIA

Bill Williams

-- Bill Williams (oceans1129@yahoo.com), November 14, 2002

Answers

I can't answer your question, but is this (photo from sfpl web site) the picture?

To see the entire (brief) record for this image click here.

-- bugmo (bugmo@myrealbox.com), November 15, 2002.


Yes that is the only photo I've seen of the place.

Judging by the large size of the window opening design of the 2nd storey, I'd say the building itself could be from as early as the 1865. I believe that the building itself would be no more than four storeys tall and on or near Market Street because of its age.

From the 1929 photo, it looks as though the place had been derilict for years since the 1920 Volstead Act judging by the general filth and damage on the outside. The place looks very vulnerable to rot as the swinging doors/steel gate leaves the interior open to the elements.

I would still like to know where it was and whether or not it went back into business after 1933 and to see if its history ends near the time this photo was taken.

If I could locate an address I could find the rest of its history in a business directory.

-- Bill Williams (oceans1129@yahoo.com), November 15, 2002.


I don't know if the US Bar is the same as the US Restaurant, but that was a popular, cheap restaurant in North Beach for decades. It was on Columbus Avenue, and recently reopened but was a complete flop.

-- Grace (catlover1959@hotmail.com), November 18, 2002.

The U.S. bar should not be confused with the U.S. Resaturant on Colombus Ave. The U.S. Restaurant (the U.S. are the initials for the Unione Sportivo) is still in business a block a way from it's original location at Colombus and Stockton. The old owners are back in charge and the food has changed little but wine prices have inflated.

D.M.

-- D. A. Martinich (dutchm@dcn.org), November 19, 2002.


I will go up to SF in the next week and see if I can find traces of the old US bar which I really suspect is on 2nd or 3rd Streets just off of Market.

Thanks for the background on the other US on Columbus btw.

-- Bill Williams (oceans1129@yahoo.com), November 19, 2002.



The US Bar is/was located in the 500 Block of Pacific Avenue between the Moulin Rouge and the Midway. Directly across the street from Spider Kelly's which is in between the Diana Hall and the Hippodrome.

Extant 1913, ca 1800s.

-- Bill Williams (oceans1129@yahoo.com), November 21, 2002.


Bill's identification of the U.S. Bar on the 500 block of Pacific puts it squarely in the middle of the old Barbary Coast, timidly renamed the "International Settlement" in the early 20th century. It's closure was probably a result of the Volstead IProhibition) Act.

-- John Martini (jamartini@slip.net), November 21, 2002.

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