Heinhold's First & Last Chance Saloon

Writers and drink go way back, and one of the coolest historic bars has a direct connection with the man who wrote John Barleycorn, Jack London. Best known for his adventure tales, London was a regular at Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, located in modern Jack London Square.

Originally called J.M. Heinold's Saloon, it is built from the timbers of old whaling ships. The bar's present name dates to the 1920s and derives from the fact that it is at the Port of Oakland, so it was the last bar a ferry passenger, and later a serviceman, could drink in before boarding ship, and the first one to greet him upon his return. As a good-luck talisman, servicemen would leave money on the walls, ensuring they would be able to buy a drink when they landed back on shore. Tragically, much of it was never reclaimed.

London would frequent the bar and listen to sailors' tales, and many of the tales and the tellers later appeared in his books. He wrote at a favorite table, and Heinold and the saloon are referred to 17 times in his novels John Barleycorn and The Tales of the Fish Patrol. Other former patrons of the saloon include President William Howard Taft and writers Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Service, Ambrose Bierce and Erskine Caldwell.

This tiny place (five stools, three tables) had been in business for 23 years when the 1906 earthquake destroyed San Francisco, leaving the floor, and everything else, severely tilted. It also caused an old clock to stop, and it still registers the time the quake struck. Heinold's coziness is made even more crowded by the plethora of stuff that hangs from the ceiling and walls and is otherwise scattered about. Currency of many lands, ancient newspapers, a deer head, spiny blowfish, old business cards, license plates and photos decorate the walls, with more cards on the ceiling. Many of the furnishings are original, including the old bar and worn-through rail. The original gaslights still illuminate the saloon, and the original, working pot-bellied stove was the only source of heat until 1989. The walls and decorations are stained dark due to creosote and smoke that built up over the years. The beer selection is small but includes craft beers by the bottle.

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October 1996