The Top of the Mark is a penthouse level bar located on the nineteenth floor of the

Mark Hopkins Hotel The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco is a luxury hotel located at the top of Nob Hill, San Francisco, Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel is managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 5,000 hot ...

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highe ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and Mason Streets in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Located at the highest point of downtown San Francisco, on fog-free days the Top of the Mark has views of the financial district,

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, North Beach, The

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

, and of Grace Cathedral and

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...

History

The Mark Hopkins Hotel was built by George D. Smith on the site of the old Mark Hopkins mansion, which had burned down following the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

. The hotel was dedicated in 1926, and the penthouse suite was rented exclusively to Daniel C. Jackling, reputedly at per month, until he moved to his house in Woodside in 1936. In 1939, shortly after emerging from a 1933 bankruptcy, George Smith convinced the trustees of the Mark to spend to convert the 11-room penthouse on the hotel's 19th floor into a glass-walled cocktail lounge, which became known as the Top of The Mark. Marjorie Trumbull won fame in the 1940s for her radio interviews of celebrities broadcast on

KSFO KSFO (810 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, featuring a conservative talk radio format. Owned by Cumulus Media, KSFO's studios are on Battery Street in the SoMa portion of San Francisco's Financial Di ...

and conducted from the Top of the Mark. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when San Francisco was a major transit point for troops going to the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, servicemen traditionally had a farewell drink before shipping out while watching the sun set over the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

. The northwest corner was known as "Weeper's Corner" after the wives and girlfriends who would gather there for their final look at departing ships. A new tradition was established during the Korean War, when squadron members would sponsor a "squadron bottle" to be kept available at the bar. Each member would sign and date the label after claiming a free drink, and the man who took the last drink would keep the signed bottle and purchase a new bottle. By the end of the Korean War, thirty-two squadron bottles were in use.

Present day

The Top of the Mark features over 100 variations on the

martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail), a drink made with gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive or a lemon twist * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss auto ...

. The bar remains popular today, featuring dancing and live music most days of the week. During the December holiday season, the Top of the Mark offers an afternoon tea service.

Gallery

Image:TotM (6489633505).jpg, Interior, overlooking the Financial District Image:Top of the Mark (Hopkins) Hotel (5485605053).jpg, Exterior view Image:2009-0723-CA-TotM-pan.jpg, Panoramic view of the Financial District Image:San Francisco Sunset - From the Top of the Mark (7253828146).jpg, Sunset over San Francisco Bay Image:Margarita at Top of the Mark (8083565901).jpg, Cocktails at the Top of the Mark Image:View from Top of the Mark (8083576127).jpg, James C. Flood Mansion, Huntington Park, and Grace Cathedral

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Top Of The Mark Drinking establishments in the San Francisco Bay Area Landmarks in San Francisco Restaurants in San Francisco Restaurants established in 1939 1939 establishments in California Nob Hill, San Francisco