Club Fugazi

678 Green St. | map |

Opened: The building opened in 1913 as an Italian community center called the Casa Coloniale Italiana John F. Fugazi, also known as Fugazi Hall. It's in North Beach on the north side of Green St. just west of Columbus. The photo by Tom Gray is from the Jack Tillmany collection. The banner in the entrance was advising that "Beach Blanket Babylon" had been temporarily moved to California Hall on Polk St. Jack notes that the show had moved for six weeks during the summer of 1981.

Website: www.clubfugazisf.com

Architect: Italo Zanolini. Harry Angus notes that other buildings by the architect include the Banca Popolare building at 2 Columbus Ave. (1906, most recently occupied by Scientology), the building at 255 Columbus Avenue (1916, most recently occupied by Vesuvio Restaurant) and Fugazi's mausoleum chapel at the Italian Cemetery in Colma.

Seating: 400. The nightclub/theatre space is on the ground floor, with a balcony that wraps around three sides of the space. There's also a lower floor of the building with interesting murals that had a long history as a dance hall.

History: The hall was financed by a donation from banker John F. Fugazi. He was the founder of Columbus Savings and Loan Society in 1893 and the Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana in 1906. Both later merged with A.P. Gianini's Bank of Italy, later renamed the Bank of America. 

The building is owned and managed by Italian Community Services, a trust that was established in 1916. Phone: 415-362-6423. Website: www.italiancs.org  On Facebook: www.facebook.com/italiancs.

Harry Angus comments on the project: 

"Fugazi had promised to establish a community center for the Italian Colony of San Francisco following the earthquake and fire of 1906, but it wasn't until 1913 that the project began. Fugazi Hall was built in 1913 on a parcel of land donated by Fugazi's second wife, Joanna Fugazi.  

"Fugazi established a trust to ensure that future generations of Italian-Americans would be able to utilize the building. The Trust is administered by the Italian-American Community Services Agency (formally known as the Italian Board of Relief and the Italian-American Welfare Agency), which was established in 1916."

In 1933 the venue was known as Barnum's Museum. Page 10 of the November 18, 1933 issue of the Chronicle reported:

"Barnum's Museum Will Open Tonight. Tonight a new playhouse will welcome San Francisco pleasure seekers. It is Barnum's Museum at 678 Green St. where 'The Drunkard' will be presented just as it used to be played some 90 years ago. Barnum's Museum is a complete innovation in theaters as it will place guests at tables instead of in the usual regimented seats, and beer and pretzels will be served free during the performance. 

"Singing barmaids will proffer incidental songs. Costumed in the period of the 1840s, the scenery copied from the original production, 'The Drunkard' will furnish an example of theatrical fare as it was enjoyed by our great grandparents."

It was the Fugazi Theatre in 1933 and 1934. As Fugazi Hall it hosted performers including Pete Seeger and The Carter Family (1957), Jon Hendricks (1959), Thelonious Monk (1959, recording the album "Thelonious Alone in San Francisco") and Julian "Cannonball" Adderly (May 1960, recording his "Poll Winner" album). It was also used as a venue for readings by beat poets and others in the 50s and early 60s.

The Dead were onstage in 1967 for an album release party. In a post for the Facebook group SF Bay Area Memories Steve Williams comments: 

"On March 20, 1967, Warner Brothers held a release party at Fugazi Hall for the self-titled debut album of the classic San Francisco rock band of the same name, 'The Grateful Dead.' Although the album was recorded in only four days in a Los Angeles studio (because no recording studios in the Bay Area had modernized recording equipment at the time), Warner Brothers chose a San Francisco venue to introduce the Grateful Dead to the world."

 

Steve also discusses the basement space below the main theatre when it was used as a dance hall: 

 

"In the early 1970s, my wife and I frequented the downstairs portion of Fugazi Hall, which was a fabulous dance hall. I recall that the venue charged a nominal entrance fee, perhaps $3 or $4 for each man and no charge for each woman, with a two-drink minimum... The patrons were mainly young, friendly Italian-Americans and others who lived in the area. Since my wife speaks Italian fluently, she enjoyed speaking her native tongue with patrons and staff workers alike.

 

"The downstairs portion of the hall featured a gigantic dance floor with tables and chairs placed around its perimeter walls. Near the front, by the stairs, was a full bar with a bartender, serviced by roving waitresses. On Friday and Saturday nights, live dance music was provided by local Italian-American bands that would perform mostly Top 40 covers, mixed in with a few Italian standards. We loved dancing there because the people were friendly, but more importantly, the dance floor was large and non-impeding..."

The main floor venue became Club Fugazi with the opening of Steve Silver’s "Beach Blanket Babylon" on June 7, 1974.  

 

Steve Williams notes that downstairs ceased to be viable as a dance hall due to its noise impacting "BBB" performances. Also: 

 

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms suspended Fugazi Hall’s liquor license when it caught them selling alcoholic drinks to minors. Without a liquor license, Fugazi Hall could not attract young adults who wanted to drink, socialize, and dance..."

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this photo as well as many of the others appearing on this page. 

An illustration advertising "Beach Blanket Babylon" that appeared in April 2019 with the show's closing notice on the BBB Facebook page. In a 45 year run there were 17,216 performances with a total attendance of  6.5 million.

A seating chart for "BBB."

The "BBB" closing: "Beach Blanket Babylon" closed December 31, 2019.

Status: The 7 Fingers show "Dear San Francisco" has been running since September 2021. An anonymous tipster notes: 

"The space was significantly restored for this show and it's now home to that show (an acrobatic love letter to San Francisco) and things like 'Sunday's A Drag' drag brunch, a speaker series, and live music."

Interior views: 

An unidentified orchestra at the Fugazi in 1938. It's a photo from the collection of Harry Angus.

 

 

The Grateful Dead onstage for a release party on March 20, 1967. Thanks to Steve Williams for sharing the photo in a post about the building for the Facebook group San Francisco Bay Area Memories and History. The photo from the Michael Ochs Archives appears on the Getty Images site where they identify it as being taken at the Fillmore Auditorium. It's also made appearances with a May 2024 Forbes article and a 2019 SF Gate story. In the latter it's also mis-identified as being the Fillmore.

 A proscenium view during the run of "Beach Blanket Babylon." Photographer: unknown

A look to house right. Photographer: unknown

 
A pre-show balcony view. Photographer: unknown

A "Beach Blanket Babylon" scene. Photographer: unknown

 
A "BBB" 60s tribute. Photographer: unknown

Another "BBB" scene. Photographer: unknown

The big hat gets a curtain call after "Beach Blanket Babylon." Photographer: unknown

 

 

A BBB view appearing on the Club Fugazi website. The show closed at the end of 2019.

 

 

The house before a 2023 performance of "Dear San Francisco." Thanks to Kerwin Berk for sharing three photos in a post on the BAHT Facebook page. He commented: "I hadn't been to Club Fugazi in North Beach in ages. The interior has been remodeled with seats on the stage. The live show was a mix of modern circus, modern dance and acrobatics."

 

 

Along the house right side of the balcony. Photo: Kerwin Berk - 2023

 

 

A look onto the stage. Photo: Kerwin Berk - 2023. Thanks!

More exterior views:

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for this photo from his collection. It appears on page 63 of his Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco." The page with the photo is included with the preview on Google Books.

 An undated view from an unidentified photographer. 

The crowd gathers before the house opens. Photographer: unknown

A 2017 entrance view by Rageoss appearing on Wikipedia.

The bust of Steve Silver (1944-1995) to the right of the entrance. Photographer: unknown

A closer look at the entrance doors. Photographer: unknown

Above the entrance doors. Photographer: unknown

The Green St. sign. Photographer: unknown 

 

 

 

A c.2024 view appearing on the Club Fugazi website. 

 

 

More information: Wikipedia has an article on Club Fugazi. Harry Angus discussed the Fugazi in comments on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered.  An April 2019 SF Gate story "SF treasure 'Beach Blanket Babylon' to close after 45 years" had a nice history of the show.  

 

The 1986 KQED production "That's Beach Blanket Babylon" can be seen on YouTube. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for archiving it and Peter Mintun for posting it. 

Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller.

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