S.F.’s Top of Mark Hits Half-Century Mark as Place to Go

The Top of the Mark, where tens of thousands of servicemen enjoyed a last drink before going off to fight the Japanese in World War II, celebrated its 50th birthday Thursday.

It was there that many a wife or sweetheart went to watch and shed a tear as the troopships and warships sailed out of San Francisco Bay, heading for the Pacific war.

“It was THE place to go,” said Dorothea Walker, who hosted a radio show from the famous 19th-story saloon in the sky during the ‘40s. “All the other bars were down below and a little bit dreary.”

Whole squadrons headquarterd unofficially at “The Mark” in those days. At the height of the Pacific fighting, about 50,000 servicemen a month went to sit at the oval bar and gaze through the huge windows at one of the world’s most spectacular views. There was nothing like it in the city.

It was the only place in town that offered a view around the compass, taking in the Golden Gate Bridge, Russian Hill and the financial district, as well as City Hall, Twin Peaks and the East Bay..

Two dozen huge, non-reflecting glass panels, designed to withstand winds of 120 m.p.h., ringed the room.

The Top of the Mark was the project of Mark Hopkins Hotel owner George Smith, who worried that his $100,000 conversion of a penthouse apartment to a cocktail lounge might be a loser.

As insurance, Smith installed a dance floor and hired a band. He need not have bothered. A few days after opening, the dance floor was covered to make room for the crowds that lined up for hours waiting to get inside.

“It was really crowded,” recalled 80-year-old Geraldine Ruvaid, who was the cashier there on opening night. “There was a line out the door.”

The management estimates that more than 13 million drinks have been served in the lounge since opening day, with the visitors probably topping 30 million. You don’t have to buy a drink to go there.

Thursday night’s bash to mark the birthday, an Opera Guild benefit, marked one of the rare times the bar has been closed for a private party. The first time was the 1945 reception for dignitaries in town to sign the U.N. Charter.

Smith sold the Mark Hopkins in 1962. The land is owned by San Francisco’s Lurie family, but--in what U.S. veterans of World War II might consider something of an irony--the hotel is leased by a Japanese company.