Stone, 412 Broadway, San Francisco, CA

1964, 412 Broadway, San Francisco, CA

Stone

412 Broadway
San Francisco, California

Capacity: 300

A 9,556 square foot building. Dave Rapken owned the Moulin Rouge Revue in 1965-’67, located at this address prior to Mr. D’s. He also owned the short-lived Rock Garden.

Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, had a connection to 412 Broadway in San Francisco. On July 27, 1963 Ruby called San Francisco, EX 7-6488, for 3 minutes from the Carousel Club (to the owner of the Moulin Rouge 412-B Broadway, Dave Rapken)[7], who owned a string of topless clubs on Broadway.[8] Jack Ruby owned a porn shop, Ruby’s Place at the same address.

“He had also been a hitman in the San Francisco area prior to coming to Dallas in the fall of 1963, following his release from the U.S. Army after only fourteen months, while stationed in West Germany.”[27]

Tony Bennett opened this room in 1967 when it was called Mr. D's, an elegant supper club. Sammy Davis Jr., had a modest financial interest in the venture.

The owner was Joe DeCarlo, a talented and accomplished impresario, as well as U.S. Naval sharpshooter who served at Iwo Jima. In 1966, DeCarlo co-managed Sonny and Cher with Harvey Kresky, formerly of William Morris. Joe was with Sonny and Cher through most of the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which won 15 Emmy awards and was a success from 1971 to 1974. After the couple divorced, Joe remained a lifetime friend and confidante of Cher. He was also entrusted as Godparent to both Chaz Bono and Elijah Allman. Joe was a close friend to Hugh Hefner. He was a frequent guest and mainstay of the Playboy mansions in Chicago and Holmby Hills. Pips International was a private restaurant, backgammon club, and nightclub regularly frequented by Hollywood celebrities, athletes and foreign royalty of the time. Hugh Hefner and Joe founded the club along with Stan Herman, where Joe was the mainstay host for nearly 10 years (1972-1982). In his later years, Joe would laugh remembering the dilemma when both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley would each demand table number one on the same evening.[28]

The San Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder says that this building was built in 1968.[12] Maybe there was a fire?

On June 12, 1968, Mr. D’s , San Francisco's newest supper club and touted as the largest, re-opened grandly with a classy, polished one man show by Bobby Darin, backed by a 23-piece orchestra.[2] For openers, Darin gave them an impressive solo show. Darin is the complete entertainer. He sings extremely well out of every pop bag from ballads to a hard rocking Splish Splash , his own composition, and at his best, as in If I Were A Carpenter with a thrilling guitar and flute backing is great. He accompanies himself on occasion on a very competent guitar and piano, moves like a dancer , snaps patter, clowns and does imitations, especially funny ones of Rex Harrison and Tony Bennett. One imitation, that of Ray Charles, was unannounced and serious.The audience demands his own Mack The Knife and rather than just run through again, he brings freshness by mocking and playing with it.[3]

On June 14, 1968, The Righteous Brothers performed a two week engagement. On August 2 thru 10, 1968, Ray Charles performed here. Tony Bennett returned on July 13, 1968 for a 15-night run. Paul Anka performed here for two weeks, August 16-29, 1968.

            Mr. D's was a supper club, offering dinner, drinks and two shows a night. They shared headliners with Reno and Tahoe. Motown acts were booked regularly, like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations or Martha And The Vandellas, and they typically played a week-long engagement.

            Three Dog Night performed here on November 7+8, 1969. Hoyt Axton was the opening act.(1)The only live recordings from Mr. D's are some 1968 tracks collected on the album The Charlie Brown Suite and Other Favorites by Vince Guaraldi.(13) Martha Reeves and The Vandellas had a one week engagement here in January, 1969. By 1972, the club had changed to The Seven Divinities. it didn’t last long.

Original Matrix owner/operator Peter Abrams (along with John Barsotti and Dave Martin) re-opened the Matrix club at this new site in late Summer 1973. Although the second Matrix was not really a success, there were a number of good shows there in the second half of 1973.

The New York Dolls played there September 4-6, 1973 and the then-unknown Bob Marley and The Wailers played some legendary gigs there in October 19-20, 29-30 when booker Scott Piering took a chance and flew in an unknown group of Jamaican musicians who were stranded in Las Vegas after being fired from a Sly And The Family Stone tour. Called The Wailers, the group surprised everybody-including themselves-by packing the place for two consecutive nights. It was these 1973 dates that first showed Bob Marley he could be successful in the U.S.

In retrospect, an equally legendary gig has to have been the Halloween 1973 show featuring Iggy and The Stooges and The Tubes. The ad (from the Fremont Argus of October 26, 1973) says "Halloween Party with Iggy and The Stooges, The Tubes and Sugardaddy." Iggy Stooge--as he was known in those days--was a notorious engine of destruction. Iggy's stage act typically featured frenzied madness and self-mutilation. Joel Selvin's review (he was the SF Chronicle rock critic) could barely describe the lunacy of Iggy's show, including a young lady in the audience performing a certain act (which wasn't described).(5)

The next incarnation of the room was The Soul Train, a joint venture of Oakland-based concert producer Dick Griffey and television personality Don Cornelius, whose Soul Train television show was just starting it's long and successful run on the airwaves. Their club did not last long but it did stay open long enough to host a number of great soul shows by the stars of the day like Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. Comedian Richard Pryor cut a scorchingly funny 1974 live album here.

From 1975 to early 1980 the club was called The Hippodrome. Lewis Chin, age 49 , was the owner and manager of The Hippodrome on Broadway. KPIX TV reported a 20 alarm fire at The Hippodrome on October 21, 1975. The Hippodrome presented a farce called "Bullshot Crummond" in it's 350 seat cabaret theater for two years.(9)

But when Freddie Herrera and Bobby Corona took over the lease in 1980 to establish The Stone, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker were the opening bill, followed by two nights of The Jerry Garcia Band-the new partnership suddenly represented a small fiefdom of three clubs, including Keystone Berkeley and Keystone Palo Alto. For the next several years, the Broadway club was a thriving alternative to the Bill Graham-run clubs. (Bobby Corona, in fact, sued Graham for unfair competition and Graham settled out of court.)  The club presented a full array of musical styles. 

Prince made a memorable 1982 appearance.

Soul greats from Wilson Pickett and James Brown to The Four Tops and The Temptations worked the room. After ten years, Herrera and Corona split their partnership, having already sold their Palo Alto and Berkeley clubs, and unloaded the lease on John Nady, inventor of the wireless guitar who was already running an Oakland club called the Omni for four years. Nady never enjoyed the success of the Keystone chain, and within a few years he vacated the lease and left a sign on the marquee reading "Bye”.

This address was known as Moulin Rouge/Casa Madrid, a topless club, in 1963-67.

S.F. Chronicle, April 2, 1967

I grabbed these matchbooks from ashtrays at The Stone, 412 Broadway, San Francisco on February 1, 1980.

F

Modesto Bee, August 1, 1977

Modesto Bee, April 13, 1979

1995 photo by Keta Bill Selvin

The Stone

412 Broadway mostly remained a nightclub, as it does today, even though it changed names and formats. Briefly, its history seems to be

• 1965: Mother's, owned and DJ'd by Tom "Big Daddy" Donohue, opened July 4(14)
• 1964-67: The Moulin Rouge(10) (moved from 540 Pacific Avenue, 1957)(11)
• 1967-69: Mr. D's
• early 70's: The Seven Divinities
• Aug-Dec '73: The Matrix (sometimes known as The New Matrix)
• 1974: Don Cornelius's Soul Train (yes, the very same)
• late 1975-80: The Hippodrome
• 1980-90: The Stone (Keystone overview is here)
• 1990s: mostly empty
• 1999: Broadway Showgirls Cabaret(1), opened March 15, 1999
• 2000: Boys Toys(18), opened January, 2000 

In 2012 it's called The Penthouse Club & Steakhouse (yes, that Penthouse).

Jerry performed here on
11/?/65 Warlocks (Mother's)
"The Only Time is Now" is one of several unreleased demos by the Emergency Crew (previously the Warlocks) before they renamed themselves the Grateful Dead, with Phil Lesh on vocals. Note the folk-rock sound and the lack of a lead guitar -- Jerry Garcia was still playing folk-style chords like the Byrds. This recording was part of a two-track demo session for Tom "Big Daddy"Donahue-Mitchell's Autumn Records, recorded at Mothers (Tom Donahue's club) in SF in Nov. 1965.(1)
2/1/80 Jerry Garcia Band
2/2/80 Jerry Garcia Band
3/7/80 Jerry Garcia Band
3/8/80 Jerry Garcia Band
7/18/80 Jerry Garcia Band
7/19/80 Jerry Garcia Band
2/21/81 Jerry Garcia Band
2/22/81 Jerry Garcia Band
2/23/81 Jerry Garcia Band
4/25/81 Jerry Garcia Band
5/31/81 Jerry Garcia Band
6/1/81 Jerry Garcia Band
7/23/81 Jerry Garcia Band
9/19/81 Jerry Garcia Band
9/20/81 Jerry Garcia Band
10/27/81 Jerry Garcia Band
12/18/81 Jerry Garcia Band
2/28/82 Jerry Garcia Band
4/25/82 Jerry Garcia Band
4/26/82 Jerry Garcia Band
9/6/82 Jerry Garcia Band
9/7/82 Jerry Garcia Band
10/21/82 Jerry Garcia Band
1/8/83 Jerry Garcia Band
1/14/83 Jerry Garcia Band
1/15/83 Jerry Garcia Band
1/25/83 Jerry Garcia Band
3/6/83 Jerry Garcia Band
3/7/83 Jerry Garcia Band
5/7/83 Jerry Garcia Band
7/21/83 Jerry Garcia Band
7/22/83 Jerry Garcia Band
11/13/83 Jerry Garcia Band
11/14/83 Jerry Garcia Band
1/8/84 Jerry Garcia Band
1/9/84 Jerry Garcia Band
3/4/84 Jerry Garcia Band
5/12/84 Jerry Garcia Band
5/13/84 Jerry Garcia Band
7/31/84 Jerry Garcia Band
8/1/84 Jerry Garcia Band
8/24/84 Jerry Garcia Band
9/15/84 Jerry Garcia Band
9/16/84 Jerry Garcia Band
11/14/84 Jerry Garcia Band
12/2/84 Jerry Garcia Band
12/3/84 Jerry Garcia Band
12/10/84 Jerry Garcia Band
3/2/85 Jerry Garcia Band
3/3/85 Jerry Garcia Band
6/1/85 Jerry Garcia Band
6/2/85 Jerry Garcia Band
8/4/85 Jerry Garcia Band
8/5/85 Jerry Garcia Band
8/9/85 Jerry Garcia Band
9/27/85 Jerry Garcia Band
10/13/85 Jerry Garcia Band
10/14/85 Jerry Garcia Band
12/14/85 Jerry Garcia Band
12/15/85 Jerry Garcia Band
1/18/86 Jerry Garcia Band
1/19/86 John Kahn acoustic
2/21/86 Jerry Garcia Band
3/10/86 Jerry Garcia Band
4/28/86 Jerry Garcia Band
5/13/86 Jerry Garcia Band
5/30/86 Jerry Garcia Band
5/31/86 Jerry Garcia Band
10/4/86 Jerry Garcia Band
10/5/86 Jerry Garcia Band
10/18/86 Jerry Garcia Band
11/10/86 Jerry Garcia Band
11/11/86 Jerry Garcia Band
11/30/86 Jerry Garcia Band
12/3/86 Jerry Garcia Band
12/8/86 Jerry Garcia Band
12/21/86 Jerry Garcia Band
1/24/87 Jerry Garcia Band
That coma was like a rude awakening. He could not believe he could not play the guitar. It was like starting over. We'd practice every day. He loved playing Gershwin, Duke Ellington. He loved "My Funny Valentine." (Merl Saunders, keyboardist and friend)

1/25/87 Jerry Garcia Band
2/10/87 Jerry Garcia Band
3/8/87 Jerry Garcia Band
3/9/87 Jerry Garcia Band
3/10/87 Jerry Garcia Band
4/23/87 Jerry Garcia Band
4/24/87 Jerry Garcia Band
5/27/87 Jerry Garcia Band
5/28/87 Jerry Garcia Band
5/30/87 Jerry Garcia Band
5/31/87 Jerry Garcia Band
If you went to enough JGB shows at the Stone or Keystones and made it down front he most definitley knew you. Nothing like a Jerry smile...
In one of the Taper's Compendium's, there is featured an interview with Betty Cantor Jackson in which she describes being backstage (in 1980 perhaps) and experiencing Garcia singing 'for her' especially....the way she tells the tale is very poignant and totally relatable to anyone who experienced the GD in all of their glory.





1.)^Rock Archaeology 101, 2011-03-17, 412 Broadway, San Francisco, CA, Mr. D's, http://rockarchaeology101.blogspot.com/2011/03/412-broadway-san-francisco-ca-mr-ds.html
2.)^Fontenot, Robert, The Bobby Darin Story, http://oldies.about.com/cs/60srockers/a/darin_2.htm
3.)^Goldsmith, John, Kellhlar, Bruce, Bobby Darin:Concert Reviews, http://www.bobbydarin.net/bdreviews.html
4.)^Richards, Rand, Historic Walks in San Francisco: 18 Trails Through the City's Past, pg 296, http://books.google.com/books?id=SMuQi_WnKyQC&pg=PA296&lpg=PA296&dq=mr.+d%27s,+sammy+davis+jr.&source=bl&ots=fdREM9g7p4&sig=f-g8P-WY1TfJ0mJniOi9t66lTL8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=x6u5T5acFubniAKkqeDGBg&ved=0CGYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=mr.%20d%27s%2C%20sammy%20davis%20jr.&f=false
5.)^
6.)^Purdy, Donald A., Jr., and Lichtenfels, Beth Anne, JACK RUBY CHRONOLOGIES: 1940-64 AND NOVEMBER 22--24, 1963, Vol. 25, p. 254; CD 4, p. 691., http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo/jfk9/hscv9g.htm
7.)^Thomas, Steve, 2004-09-14, Ruby's connection to San Francisco, http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1642
8.)^Passman, Arnie, 1971-09-02, Sych Sweet Thunder, Rolling Stone, http://www.maturemusician.com/rw-article03.html
9.)^Ledbetter, Les, San Francisco Chinatown Spills Past Boundaries, 1977-01-23, Sarasota Herald-tribune, pg 65, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9k40AAAAIBAJ&sjid=QmcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6700,3591076&dq=hippodrome+san+francisco&hl=en
10.)^Tillmany, Jack, San Francisco Theaters, Cinemas, Dancehalls, after 190, http://home.earthlink.net/~minhnghia/theater.html
11.)^Polk's SF Directory, 1957, www.sfgenealogy.com/sanfranciscodirectory/1957/1957_189.pdf
12.)^http://gispubweb.sfgov.org/website/sfparcel/showlotinfo.asp?LotIDValue=0144033
13.)^http://www.deaddisc.com/GDFD_Venues.htm#m6
14.)^Perry, Colin, The Haight-Ashbury: A history, http://wild-bohemian.com/timeline.htm
15.)^http://www.bay-area-bands.com/bab00090.htm 
16.)^Bay Area Radio Museum, http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kya/1961/kya_tom-donahue_dec-15-1961.shtml 
17.)^Light Into Ashes, 2011-10-01, http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-1965-dining-hall-menlo.html 
18.)^Curiel, Jonathan, 2000-03-28, http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Gloves-Are-Off-on-Broadway-Angry-S-F-neighbors-3304563.php#photo-2454466