Commuting via  Muni or BART for us means walking down from Nob Hill to the Powell Street BART Station. Descending to the station, one passes through a dense  neighborhood of retail with apartments above, and interspersed amongst these buildings are a collection of noble  brick buildings that are almost civic in their character; modern-day urban palazzi. They differ from their neighborhood brethren in their absence of retail at the street, or apartments and lodging above. These buildings  look as though  they might be libraries,  banquet halls, or  even theaters. Well, to varying degrees , they are all of these, they are, in fact, private clubs. My dear reader, we bring you Clubland.

The private club is largely of  English origin, initially for men only, and many were centered in the St. James area of London. These “gentlemen’s” clubs served as a place of social(and no doubt business) interaction for the like-minded elite of London. In a certain era, one could see these clubbers dashing about with walking stick and bowler hat . (Urban Ambles spotted a couple, as though in search of a rare yellow-breasted Scottish warbler, on a recent trip to London). Over time, the tradition spread to the United States, and in our aforementioned district, there are a number. Set amongst the otherwise retail bustle and eclectic mix of tourists, local denizens, hip art students, and, well, just plain crazy, they are understandably discreet.

Weaving Spiders Come Not Here

The plaque above can be found on the corner of Taylor and Post, at the foot of the massive Italianate Bohemian Club, perhaps the most well know of San Francisco clubs. The plaque reflects an early change in membership requirements at the club, when it elected to forbid newspaper reporters and their ‘web spinning’ tendencies, thus “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”. This is almost the only clue as to what lies beyond, and this is typical of the clubs.

So, naturally, Urban Ambles curiosity was piqued. Amidst some of the most bubbling, vital streets in the City, what were these edifices? They  seemed like  19th and early 20th century sorts of  institutions, yet they live on in the heart of the city, and in fact seem to be thriving. Some, as it turns out, like the aforementioned Bohemian, have evolved into a very exclusive club appealing to certain ends of the political spectrum. Some clubs are rooted and connected to athletic venues-most typically private golf clubs, there are clubs for women, and clubs for men,  clubs that have retained extreme exclusivity , and others that perhaps even I could join. (but I am reminded of the great Groucho Marx line – “I would never join a club that would have me as a member”).

Not surprisingly, they mostly exist within a relatively small area of the city, near what traditionally has been the commercial and thus social heart of the city around Union Square, though it should be noted that there are many other private clubs scattered about. But as this is our neighborhood, we decided to provide what we think is a public service. So,if have some spare funds lying around, or are wanting to make new friends of a certain set (sniff..sniff), we bring you our tour of  Clubland.

The Bohemian Club

The Bohemian Club

• Location: 624 Taylor Street (@ Post)
• Founded: 1872
• Members: 2,700 (3,000 on the waiting list)- men and now, supposedly, women may join as well.
• Noted members: Both Bushes-H.W. and YES-W., Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld, George Schultz, Clint Eastwood, William F. Buckley, Richard Nixon
• Motto: “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”
• Members are: Republican! (at least mostly)
• Initiation fee: $25,000
• The Joint: Large brick , vine covered Italianate fortress.
• Backstory: The Club is perhaps more well-known for its large plat of land along the Russian River, known as the Bohemian Grove. Several times each year, the Bohemians gather for an encampment. (perhaps the neo-cons hatched their elaborate government take-over at one of these encampments). The owl is the guardian of the club, protecting against malicious spiders (reporters), and it appears to have also spawned one of the late great watering holes in San Francisco: Bobby’s Owl Tree across the street. This bar was stuffed with every imaginable owl tchotchke known to man, but the crown jewel was Bobby himself- an old school barkeep who would close the bar down for the evening if there was the slightest  breech of bar decorum. Yeeeessssssss, irrational reactions to border difficulties, where could he have gotten that…….oh, that’s right, across the street.  The late Bobby’s heirs sold the bar, and while it retains the name, has lost all the rest of its bizarre charm, and now resembles every other predictably  trendy little watering hole in the city.

The Olympic Club

The Olympic Club

• Location: 524 Post Street (btw Taylor and Mason)
• Founded: 1860
• Members: 6.000 (3,000 on the waiting list)- in 1992 women were allowed to join.
• Motto: “O Realm Where Stalwart Manhood Rules”
  
• Noted members: Mark Twain, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio
• Initiation fee: $9,000, $25,000 if you wish to become a member of the Golf Club as well.
• The Joint: Very handsome urban palazzo adorned at street level with classical statuary, and apparently one helluva pool.
• Backstory: The Club is one of the ultimate  high-falutin’ business networking locales in the City. It is perhaps more well-known for its luxurious private golf club in the western part of the city, the site of several U.S. Open Championships. Though Urban Ambles was quickly escorted off the premises when trying to enter this building, we came across the image of the pool. The classical  embrace of the athlete apparently lives on , along with a well-stocked bar, in the Tendernob. Urban Ambles, knowing several members, will hold its tart tongue.

The Family

The Family

• Location: Corner of Powell and Bush
• Founded: 1901
• Members: Less than 500- men and women may join.
• Motto: “Keep Young”
• Noted members: Henry Crocker, Herbert Hoover, Architect Timothy Pflueger
• The Joint: Modest urban palazzo. Never see any activity here, very quiet.
• Backstory : This club is not, as we thought it might,be one of those family organizations that has a “Godfather”. No, the Club was founded by some of those weaving spiders who were sent packing from the Bohemian Club. The writer/reporter  Ambrose Bierce had correctly predicted the assassination of Republican president William McKinnley, and in 1901,after he actually was slain, not wishing to be involved in such controversy, the reporters were excommunicated from the Bohemian Club. The formed The Family, and the club has become very  discreet and apparently more family oriented. Its logo is a stork, which you can see engraved on its doors.

The Metropolitan Club

The Metropolitan Club

• Location: 640 Sutter Street (@ Taylor)
• Founded: 1915
• Members: Unknown number, women only.
• Noted members: A who’s who of the San Francisco social register.
• The Joint: A masterful  brick  palazzo, but more in the straight renaissance tradition, with a piano nobile (large arched windows at the primary floor) and capping loggia above. Designed by Bliss-Faville Architects (1923).
• Backstory: This is the pre-eminent women’s club in Northern California. Originally founded as the Women’s Athletic Club, as part of the early 20th century interest in promoting women’s health. As the membership aged, the focus of the club broadened, and was more realistically rechristened the Metropolitan Club. The Olympic Club proposed a merger some years ago, but the women told them to take a hike. Imagine that? Search yelp for Metropolitan Club (and for that matter  most of the clubs)for a smattering of interesting, and occasionally unflattering, reviews of the club.

The University Club

The University Club

• Location: 800 Powell Street (@ California)
• Founded: 1890
• Members: unknown- in 1940 women were allowed to join.
• Initiation Fee: $5,000 (if you’re over 40)- join when you’re young I guess. Must have at least gone to college for 2 years……..maybe.
• Motto: “Sons of many mothers”
  
• The Joint: Yet another brick palazzo, though  more modest than those above. A newer athletic club adjoins the rear.
• Backstory: The Club is affiliated with many other “University Clubs” around the country, and is easily identified by the flags of many prominent colleges out front. Amidst Harvard, Yale, and Cal Tech, Urban Ambles beloved State University of New York at Buffalo was not in evidence (insert note of ironic shock here). Of note also, this is the only club that ‘Ambles has been invited to be in, and that for a memorable office Christmas party some years back. It is also most recently been in the news for serving underage patrons, which we think is an entirely unsurprising development given its pedigree,ya’ know-  college grads and all.

Pacific Union Club

The Pacific Union Club

• Location: 1000 California (@ Mason)
• Founded: 1881
• Members: 775- men only. Women apparently have been recently allowed to join, but who knows. Multi-year waiting list.
• Noted members: David Packard, Henry Kaiser, Walter Haas, William Randolph Hearst, Samuel Morse (!), numerous Bechtels
• Motto: “Stay away”- just kidding, doesn’t seem to be one.
• Members are: Old white republican men (at least mostly).
• Initiation fee: “They keep raising the initiation and the dues, because nobody cares”. Initiates must receive no fewer than 14 sponsors!! I don’t think I could find 14 sponsors for anything, unless I counted 2 dogs and a parakeet.
• The Joint: The Club occupies the Flood Mansion atop Nob Hill, the only one of the great Nob Hill mansions to survive the quake. The mansion is noteworthy in one respect here. It’s not brick, but rather a very rare west coast example of brownstone..
• Backstory: This is the oldest of old money, and the most exclusive, (Bohemian George W. Bush is not a member).  This is a true old world social club, and it is  said that it most closely resembles the old clubs of St. James in London. Ambles interaction with this club is a bit awkward, as we only live a few blocks away. On the one hand, we enjoy an occasional cocktail at this club’s public compatriot, the gloriously old world Big Four across the street  (if you are a budding rail baron- as we once fancied ourselves- a must stop). On the other hand, it is a periodic stop on our dog-walking tour, and our canine companion, who has a knack for, uhh, making a statement with her defecation, has several times chosen the exact center of the front steps of this mansion, and we now have been identified by groundskeepers as “trouble”. Sniff.

The Francisca Club

The Francisca Club

• Location: Sutter Street @ Mason
• Founded: 1881
• Members: Unknown number, women only.
• Noted members: A who’s who of the San Francisco social register.
• The Joint: Again brick, but a bit more colonial revival this time, also designed by Walter Bliss. Said to have a splendid library inside.
• Backstory: Includes restaurant, lodging, and club rooms for pursuit of social and literary activities.
  

The Marines-Memorial Club

The Marines-Memorial Club

• Location: 800 Sutter Street (@ Mason)
• Founded: 1946
• Members: 21,000, originally a club for Marine veterans, it has since been opened to veterans of all branches of the military service.
• Initiation Fee: $100
• Motto: How about  “Semper Fidelis”?
  
• The Joint: A 12-story beaux-arts style building built in 1926- yup, red brick. It was originally another club; the Western Women’s Club, and was bought by the Marines in 1946.
• Backstory: The club was conceived at the close of World War II as a living memorial to the Marines. Its most noteworthy features are its large number of hotel rooms, and a 650 seat theater. The theater was once home to the ACT repertory company, and ‘Ambles believes we may once have attended a drag show there, which is ironic on at least a few levels when you think about it.

That’s it folks. Go to it if you’re so inclined. Stay tuned for two related upcoming posts- our tour of classic old libraries in the City, and a piece on the Tendernob neighborhood’s revitalization takeover by the art school real estate conglomerate Academy of Art.