California Hall, originally named Das Deutsche Haus (English: The German House, sometimes also referred to in incorrect German as Das Deutsches Haus), is a historic commercial building and event venue built in 1912, located in the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It started as a German social meeting hall.
- Venue
- California Hall (San Francisco, California)
- Address
- 625 Polk Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Town
- San Francisco, US
California Hall, originally named Das Deutsche Haus (English: The German House, sometimes also referred to in incorrect German as Das Deutsches Haus), is a historic commercial building and event venue built in 1912, located in the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It started as a German social meeting hall. In 1965, it was the location of a fundraiser event for gay charities that brought trouble with the police and an ensuing legal battle. This event has been described a turning point in gay rights in the west coast. In the mid-1960s and 1970s, it was a popular concert hall; performers that played at the California Hall include Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. The building presently is part of the Academy of Art University campus. The California Hall has been listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since October 7, 1984. In 1912, when the Das Deutsche Haus was built, Polkstrasse (now Polk Street) was a main commercial shopping center for German immigrants. The architect was Frederick H. Meyer and the design of the building was influenced by the Heidelberg Castle in Germany. There was a restaurant in the basement called the Rathskeller. It was originally used as a meeting space by 43 German societies and fraternities. In 1918, the building's name was changed to California Hall, as part of what has been described as a general "process of physically removing the presence of German influence" in San Francisco following the entry of the US into World War I on the side opposing Germany. German American Bund, a Nazi organization for Americans of German-descent, held meetings in the building prior to World War II. In October 1938, it was the venue of a "German Day" celebration attended by 2500 members of German societies, with speeches by mayor Rossi and Nazi Germany's Consul General von Killinger, protested by 150 anti-Nazi demonstrators outside th