History - The Saga of the Temple Bar
In Berkeley from San Francisco after the Loma Prieta 1989 earthquake, CitySearch has awarded the Temple Bar, (circa 1849) for Best Signature Drinks, and the S.F. Chronicle travel guide for Best Pacific Island Cuisine. This year with its fine handcrafted and massive rosewood and birch pillars, the Temple Bar takes its place as a survivor in the San Francisco 1906 Earthquake Centennial
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The back bar, with its flowing arches, was built in Philadelphia in 1849 and is styled after the original Temple Bar in London, England. In 1856, the rosewood and birch back bar was brought around Cape Horn by clipper ship and stored in a warehouse in what is now San Francisco's Chinatown. Miraculously, it survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and in 1907 was moved into one of the first San Francisco buildings built after the earthquake, a location at 1 Tillman Place.
With the nearly hidden entrance, at the end of a long narrow brick walkway, the Temple Bar began life as a quiet stopping off place for San Franciscans. However, when William "Davey" Davenport bought the bar for three hundred dollars on a dare at midnight on Prohibition Eve, the Temple Bar lost some of its quiet obscurity, and San Francisco had its first tea room. The Temple Bar Tea Room dispensed a "lively" brand of tea in silver tea pots throughout prohibition.
It has also been rumored that the Temple Bar was once one of the City's most luxurious brothels, with its magnificent stairway leading to even quieter locations above the main floor.
After prohibition, the Temple Bar gained fame as a very "in" dinner house and entertained many celebrities of the 1930's, such as the famed actor, Wallace Beery.
Things quieted down during and after World War II and the Temple Bar began to take on a new identity, that of a solid luncheon spot with a lively cocktail hour.
In the late 40's telephone company executives discovered it and made it their favorite lunch spot. They decided to use the name Temple Bar as one of the telephone dial exchanges. Thus the exchanges were for example, Beacon, Landscape, and Temple Bar. Subsequent owners began to use the Temple Bar name for advertising.
If you are interested in more information about the Temple Bar, read The Great and Notorious Saloons of San Francisco by Jane Chamberlin. The Temple Bar is listed as one of fifty-five great saloons. Chamberlin says in her book, "The back bar may be the finest in all the city, a massive, brooding piece with flowing arches, finely carved from rosewood and birch. Fashioned in 1849 after the famous Temple Bar of London, it had the good fortune to be stored in the charmed Hoteling Warehouse when the quake and fire hit, avoiding a grievous fate."
