The
Beginning of Clubs in San Francisco
In the 1850s, San Francisco was the most cosmopolitan city in the
Western world and attracted The sudden and rapid accumulation of wealth by San Francisco's early settlers also contributed to making the trend of gentlemen's clubs fashionable even before they were so on the East Coast. There were many benevolent societies, congregations, fire companies, secret societies and lodges springing up. Gentlemen's clubs, which imitated the English model, won their share of devotees. The Verein--which later became the Argonaut Club Among
the many pioneers were Germans, who yearned for a more select company
of their peers. Jewish The Verein first occupied modest quarters at Sacramento and Kearny. But with a membership boasting some of the city's biggest tycoons, the club moved to larger and more luxurious surroundings, eventually lodging at Sutter and Grant (pictured above). And finally in 1870, the Verein shed its German identity and became the Argonaut Club. |
many pioneers and sojourners, but the city was often an ocean away
from their places of birth and countries of origin. Amidst a multitude
of uncommonly purposeful strangers, even the most adventurous and
individualistic newcomers at times experienced a sense of profound
isolation and loneliness. Only through active association could
the single male be assured of mutual support, amusement, humanizing
companionship, and on time-honored occasions, religious solace and
renewal. San Francisco's cultural ambiance in those times was tawdry
at best. Prostitution, drinking and gambling thrived. Men looking
for a wholesome camaraderie, a friendly card game and a good meal
created their own refuge within the world of private gentlemen's
clubs.
and
German immigrants established the San Francisco Verein in 1853,
which was the first German and second gentlemen's club in San Francisco.
The Verein (German for "Club") later became known as the
Argonaut Club and was the first direct ancestor of the Concordia-Argonaut.
This club attracted young men who aspired to "large affairs"
as well as a sprinkling of professional and university men.
By
1864, San Francisco had come a long way in its struggle to become
an urbane city. But, scratch its surface and one still found a bawdy
frontier town. The wild state of the City prompted urgent pleas
for a house of refuge for the spiritual improvement and social gatherings
of the Jewish young men of the city. It was suggested that this
place of refuge be a hired hall in a decent location which would
include, among its amenities, "a select Jewish library, lectures
of Jewish content, debates, and games of chess." Levi Strauss
and a group of young friends answered this need and organized the
Concordia Society in 1865. It was largely comprised of wholesale
merchants building princely fortunes. The Society’s objectives
were: "promoting of social intercourse, cultivating literary
taste The first home of the Concordia Society was a large room on the second floor of the Odd Fellows Hall at Bush and Kearny. It was not luxurious but it provided a "house of refuge" for the young men–many of whom were bachelors. The Club also afforded married men a respite from the demands of family life. There was a room for playing cards and a room for conversation that frequently turned to the topic of the Civil War that was tearing the new nation apart, and to its repercussions in the West. By 1868, The Concordia Club had moved to its second home in Dashaway Hall at 212 Sutter Street (pictured above). |
and
diffusing useful knowledge among the members thereof."
1142 Van Ness Avenue A decade later, the most fashionable residential area of the City was Pacific Heights, where Jews and Gentiles alike built stately homes. The Concordia members decided to look for land on Van Ness Avenue—the focal point of the area. In 1891, the first Concordia Club building opened and raised them to new, elegant heights, and set the standard for club life in San Francisco. The five-story structure featured carved mahogany and oak mantels, Turkish carpets, crystal chandeliers, a sitting room, reading room, cafe, bar, billiard room, enormous ballroom, several card rooms, ladies' parlor, shooting gallery, bowling alley, gymnasium and a state-of-the-art elevator. The new home of the Concordia Club was solid, substantial, luxurious and elegant. From roof to basement, inside and outside, it was constructed and created of the best and most costly materials yet it maintained a quiet, subdued tone of elegance. |
In
1873, they decorated two floors of the Hoffman building (pictured
at right) at the northwest corner of O’Farrell and Stockton
Streets at a cost of $30,000. There was a reading room replete with
magazines and newspapers; a well-stocked library; a billiard room,
a dining hall; and not least of all, card rooms.
The
1906 earthquake ruptured the city’s underground water lines—leaving
the fire department |
helpless to control the numerous fires caused by broken gas lines,
short-circuits and collapsed chimneys. The brick exterior of the
Concordia Club withstood the earthquake but the interior was decimated.
The Argonaut was destroyed quickly by fire but the Concordia suffered
a slow death. The façade that remained was but a mute testimony
to the splendor that had been within those walls (pictured at left).
In order to save what was left of the city, the fires would have
to be stopped at Van Ness Avenue—meaning that the buildings
and homes on Van Ness would have to be sacrificed. The Concordia
Club, its shell still echoing the sounds of happier days, shuddered
under the barrage of cannon fire. The remains of the stately building
were sacrificed in order to save the City its builders had loved
so well.
Concordians
and Argonauts held a prominent role in rebuilding the City and its
future. Even In 1939, as the Argonaut was losing its lease, they begin to discuss merging with the Concordia Club and did so that year. The Concordia-Argonaut Club was born...(pictured above) |
though
their places of refuge had been totally destroyed, members were
not discouraged. There was never any question that the Concordia
would be rebuilt on their Van Ness Avenue lot while the Argonaut
Club came to inhabit the second and third floors of an office building
on the corner of Post and Powell Streets. Rebuilt, both clubs flourished
for the next 25 years. During the Depression, however, membership
dwindled...
Through the lean years of the Depression, the Club found that it had to scale back its previous lush habits. Later during the WWII years, the Club opened its athletic facilities to members of the armed forces. But after the war, the condition of the Club had declined so profoundly that a Voluntary Contribution Plan was set up and nearly $140,000 was spent renovating and upgrading the battered Club. In 1950 the first non-Jew was proposed for membership. It was believed that not to admit a non-Jew was completely contrary to the members' principles. As an organization, the Concordia-Argonaut was determined not to discriminate. The members didn't believe they could be restrictive and not expect other clubs to be restrictive as well. One member stated "We did it so that we could not complain that other clubs did not admit Jews." Today, it is not known what percentage of the membership is Jewish or non-Jewish–as nothing on the membership application indicates religion. |
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On
January 31st, 1982, the San Francisco Forty-Niners has won the Superbowl
and the excitement of the victory was still in the air. The Concordia-Argonaut
was world-class too–with men on the waiting list for as long
as five years and the Club was in the best financial condition in
On
that same day, in the third-floor dining room, faulty wiring behind
a hot plate had ignited some nearby napkins and linens. Rebuilding and looking ahead... The loss from the 1982 fire would only be temporary. The Club had been rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and it could be restored once again. There was simply a sense of permanence about the Club–whose roots go back almost as far as those of the City itself... The Concordia-Argonaut takes extreme pride in its persistent occupancy of the identical site and building since 1891, a record of continuity that marks it as unique among the City's clubs. But as permanent as the Concordia-Argonaut had become, it still needed to change with the times. The modern world provided new needs and challenges for the Club to meet. One major modern change came when the Club began admitting women–which required renovation in order to add women's locker rooms to the facility. The Club continues to change and grow with its membership and the City of San Francisco itself. For its members, as for so many other San Franciscans, the Club has become a symbol of a splendid tradition of professional and business integrity of which there are so many distinguished examples and of civic steadfastness–inseparable from the City's sense of its best self. And this tradition will continue on...
Information
included in this page was taken from the following sources:
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its
history. The membership of the Club boasted many fifth-generation
San Franciscans. 
The
Club Manager tried to extinguish the fire to no avail. The Fire
Department was called. For two and a half hours, the firemen fought
the blaze. The Club's roof collapsed and many firemen were trapped
in the building. Much damage was sustained by the Club and it was
noted that the Club's 1955, 1957, and 1960 Chateau LaFittes and
other vintage French Bordeaux wines were discovered floating in
the Club's flooded basement...