In celebration of its centennial, the hotel is throwing a party “through the decades.” Read on to find out how to win 2 tickets to the 11-11-11 event.
Did you know San Francisco was one of the wettest towns west of St. Louis during the long years of Prohibition? In fact the San Francisco Chronicle estimated that 6,000 speakeasies sold beer and liquor illegally in the city in the 1920s up until Dec. 5, 1933, when the 21st amendment repealing Prohibition was ratified.
According to San Francisco historian and guide Rick Evans, who founded My Favorite City Tours, the best speakeasy bars were in hotels. You don’t have walk far from Union Square to see one of the last remnants of a hotel speakeasy bar tucked away in the basement of the Galleria Park Hotel at 191 Sutter Street. The hotel’s speakeasy will be revived for one night only this Friday during the Galleria Park Hotel’s by-invitation Centennial Celebration. To enter the speakeasy, guests will have to find and zap QR codes in the lobby to get the password to enter the speakeasy. Once allowed in, they will enjoy specialty 1920s bourbon drink, and Rick Evans will be on hand to tell tales of San Francisco during the Prohibition era.
It does not take much imagination to see how this room could have been filled back then with the laughter and music of people enjoying some of the highest quality champagne and liquors away from the judgmental eyes of the general public and, of course, the law enforcement. The past history of the room (now a garage) is evident by the decorative worn floor covering and decorative ceiling ties. The floor covering was once very bright and cheerful and trimmed with the most ancient form of design — the “Greek Key” pattern. The “Greek Key” with its interlocking lines has been used by architects and designers for centuries. It has been said that the pattern represents friendship and love due to the fact that the interlocking lines never disconnect and interlock in a continual pattern. With the decorative plaster ceiling and the original floor tile with the “Greek Key” pattern, the Galleria Park Hotel’s Garage has become a “must-see” for any hotel guests interested in San Francisco’s history.
Galleria Park Hotel’s invitation-only “Through the Decades” themed event will be staged throughout the hotel from its garage to its rooftop garden. An architectural gem, the hotel opened in 1911, was renamed Galleria Park Hotel in 1984, and emerged from a dramatic renovation in 2007 as a European-style boutique hotel with a plush Art Nouveau-era glamour.
Be the first to answer the following questions on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jdvhotels and win two tickets to Galleria Park Hotel’s 11-11-11 Centennial Event this Friday.
What was the original name of Galleria Park Hotel? Who (or what) was it named after?
Cheers!
Grange’s Executive Chef Michael Tuohy
