Bimbo 365 Club-Home of the girl in the fish bowl

Unfortunately I did not win this auction on ebay, but was curious if anyone knew
anything about the place.I thought the ashtray graphics were very cool-a woman
riding a fish.My first thought was thinking of the wreck bar in Florida with the
swimming mermaids .I think a new MCM tiki bar with a viewing tank built the
length of the bar would just be the cats meow !

Bimbo's is still open to this day. However I have never been, so I cannot comment on the "girl in the fishbowl."

But they do have a history page that includes some information...

http://www.bimbos365club.com/history.html

[ Edited by: Cool Manchu 2010-03-05 21:51 ]

A San Francisco classic!:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30226&forum=17&vpost=414950

Didn't Devo play there, too?

Not really Tiki, though.

I own a few pieces of paper from this place:

:down: napkin

:down: matchbook

:down: photo-folder

:down: and here's what the optical illusion of the girl in the fishbowl looks like nowadays (from a Flickr photo)

Andy and I LOVE Bimbo's 365!

OK, past tense cuz we live in Florida now, but still it is one the coolest venues in all of SF.

If any of you remember the Chris Issac Show from cable a few years back, he used the "Girl in the Fishbowl" as a kind of guru/counselor/spiritual guide.

Found this a few weeks ago:

I loved the Chris Isaak show - I wish it would be released on dvd. Bobby Jo Moore played the girl in the goldfish bowl

Chris Isaak and his band were the house band at Bimbo's in the series. The exteriors were shot in SF but the interiors were filmed in Vancouver.

Bimbo's is classic! My parents went there when they were dating. It's a terrific venue and they book really cool acts. Wanted to go to their New Year's Eve show, but got a better offer (hard to believe, I know). Bill, when you are up north again, I can pull out my vintage Bimbo's collection.

Sounds good Brenda,I look forward to it.I want to know if the women swam in a tank
like the Yankee Clipper in Ft. Lauderdale ?

The women don't actually swim in a fishtank. It is an optical illusion. They pretend to swim on a rotating platform in the bowels of the building and it is projected into the fishtank in a way that makes it appear that they're in the tank. But that "girl riding fish" image is a large statue they have in the main lobby.

Bimbo's is an amazing room with wonderful mid-century details and really great bands! I highly recommend a visit to Bimbo's if there is a cool band playing when you're in town!

But I also agree with Bigbro that Bimbo's is most definitely not tiki. This should be in the "Beyond Tiki" forum.

Yeah Thanks JenTiki I had the same thought after the fact.Thanks for the info, I will
have to check it out some time when I am up north.