The Boarding House was a music and comedy nightclub, located at 960 Bush Street in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, opened by David Allen in 1971 and closed in the early 1980s. Many comedians launched their career at the boarding house including

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

's first three albums were recorded there, '' Let's Get Small'', '' A Wild and Crazy Guy'', and ''

Comedy Is Not Pretty! ''Comedy Is Not Pretty!'' (1979) is an album by the American comedian Steve Martin. It was recorded at The Boarding House in San Francisco, California, where his previous two albums were also recorded. When released, the album was not as well-re ...

'', in whole or in part.

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

and Jay Leno have said they first met at The Boarding House. The club was also host to a multitude of musical acts, such as Jerry Garcia, Dire Straits,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

, Bette Midler, Billy Joel,

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early d ...

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Old & In the Way Old & In the Way was a bluegrass group formed in 1973. It was composed of Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and John Kahn (string bass). When the group was fo ...

, Randy Newman,

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks Daniel Ivan Hicks (December 9, 1941 – February 6, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter known for an idiosyncratic style that combined elements of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music. He led ″Dan Hic ...

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

, Hoyt Axton, Camel, and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

. The Residents also first played there.

Pre-history and David Allen

Before opening the Boarding House in 1971, New Jersey-born David Allen had operated a target range on the top floor of California Hall on Polk Street, and performed as a repertory theater actor and as KPIX's "Deputy Dave." In the 1960s, he worked with Enrico Banducci at the

hungry i The hungry i was a nightclub in San Francisco, California, originally located in the North Beach neighborhood. It played a major role in the history of stand-up comedy in the United States. It was launched by Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who sold i ...

and helped nurture the careers of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

and Lenny Bruce. After he opened The Boarding House in 1971, he helped launch many noted comedians and musicians of the 1970s and 80s by booking them early in their career. Entertainers and writers have noted that Allen was "genial", "loved and respected" but frequently in financial difficulties and often kept The Boarding House running "on charm alone," relying on benefits performed by stars whose careers he had launched.

Bush Street location

History

Previous to the 1906 earthquake, the address was an apartment building called The Cecil. After the earthquake and resulting fire, it was rebuilt as The Fitzgerald Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church and opened 25 August 1918; it ceased operation as a church in 1931 and re-opened 8 September 1931 as the Fine Arts Building and Auditorium. It was known by many names over the years, beginning with the Club Kamokila (1 June 1933), and the Royal Hawaiian Club (25 April 1935). From 5 March 1936 until 1939 it also housed the Federal Theatre, later known as the Federal Workshop. In 1942 it re-opened as Shangri La, and on 8 March 1943 it became the Bush Street Music Hall, the home of the perennially popular melodrama, The Drunkard, produced by Barry Breden. From March 1947 until January 1955 it operated as the Balalaika, and on 10 January 1950 became known as the Bush Street Theatre, home of the San Francisco Repertory Company; from 27 June 1956 until July 1960, it was Fack's II, and re-opened 26 September 1960 as Neve of SF; it was the Theatre Lab in 1966, and re-opened as The Quake 31 December 1967. It re-opened again as The Troubadour (North) 4 August 1970, owned by

Doug Weston Alexander Douglas Weston (December 13, 1926 – February 14, 1999) was an American nightclub owner, known as the owner of The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles which in the 1960s and 1970s was particularly responsible for promoting many successf ...

, who also owned the Hollywood folk and rock institution, The Troubadour

finally becoming The Boarding House 21 February 1973.

Media coverage

The club was featured in '' Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' in 1974 and by 1977, the same magazine called it "the city's top nightclub for major name entertainment." Robin Williams described David Allen and Bay Area entertainment reviewer John Wasserman as "like a team". "David would find these strange unique talents and John's reviews would get people in."

Columbus Street location and closure

After a disastrous fire, the Bush Street building was torn down in July 1980 and replaced by condominiums. Dave Allen reopened the club for a short time at 901 Columbus Ave in the city's North Beach district, where comedians

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

and

Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actor, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary durin ...

performed. The club had closed by 1982; Allen died on May 25, 1984.Joel Selvin, San Francisco: ''The Musical History Tour: A Guide to Over 200 of the Bay Area's Most Memorable Music Sites'', Chronicle Books, Apr 1, 1996

References

External links

Boardinghouse, San Francisco, CA, USA Concert Setlists
- setlist.fm
Boarding House, 960 Bush St., San Francisco, CA
- Jerry's Brokendown Palaces

- Lost Live Dead
The Boarding House
-

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Boarding House
- rocktourdatabase.com
San Francisco, the Musical History Tour By Joel SelvinVenue: The Boarding House - Rate Your MusicBerkeley Barb June 18-24, 1971 — Independent VoicesBerkeley Barb Jan. 18-24, 1974 — Independent Voices
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boarding House, The (nightclub) Nightclubs in San Francisco Culture of San Francisco Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Former music venues in California Comedy clubs in California Demolished buildings and structures in San Francisco Buildings and structures demolished in 1980 Defunct nightclubs in California