Post #276095 by thejab on Tue, Jan 2, 2007 1:49 PM

On 2006-12-28 18:18, RevBambooBen wrote:
How many tiki/tropical bars used to be on San Pablo???

Sven: One of the older bartenders at Trader Vic's Emeryville (who used to only work one night a week) told me that the Zombie Hut was gutted by a fire some time in the 1960s but I don't know the exact year. I think I need to get over to the Oakland library and do some research.

There's a film noir from 1950 called "Where Danger Lives" that shows a South Seas bar on a street in Oakland that may very well be on San Pablo Ave. More info in the first post here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=51&forum=1

Here's a fascinating article about San Pablo Avenue's thriving music and burlesque scenes in the 30s through the 50s:
http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/ca/traveler/2001-03/highway_nostalgia.html

In addition to the Hollywood Club/Hambone Kelly's, there was the It Club, Hotsy Totsy Bar, Kona Club, and Six Belles and the Wagon Wheel - perhaps the wildest of them all. A few miles east along San Pablo Avenue was the home of Don Churchill's western band that vied with the popular Dude Martin.  

[Ed.: Other clubs along San Pablo Avenue shown in a late 1940s phone book include Alvarado Garden, Backstage, Club Pablo, Club Thunderbird, Jungle Inn, Kountry Inn, Todds Club, and Miami Club.]