House of Shields

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39 New Montgomery (at Market) San Francisco, CA 94105

415-975-8651

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Best Old-School Bar
Award Winner 2011

Hours: Mon-Fri 3pm-2am, Sat 6pm-2am
Entertainment: Live Entertainment

Description

"The House of Shields sold a while back," writes Hank Armstrong in the book Saloons of San Francisco. "The layers of nicotine that over the years blackened the walls are gone, the wood restored." That was published in 1982. Yet when new owners bought this venerable downtown bar in 2010, hands were wrung anew at the prospect that promised renovations would destroy its century-old character and whitewash its history. Fear not. The House of Shields remains as it always was: a dusky, dignified, dark-wood-paneled antique saloon where classic cocktails trump contemporary trends. The old blown-glass chandeliers have been repaired, the timeworn tile floors cleaned, and the bronze statues polished - not that you'd notice with the perennially low light levels - and the outside neon that once advertised live music now simply promises cocktails within. Everything else is much as it was when the House of Shields opened in 1908. Far from being reimagined, the "new" House of Shields has simply been refreshed.

2011 | Best Old-School Bar

Although the spittoons are gone and you can sit at the bar instead of standing at the rail, the House of Shields is still one of the best places in town to get that ambience that Jack Kerouac called "ole Frisco's ... end of the land sadness, end of the world gladness." It's mahogany-dark inside, with ornate Victorian light fixtures giving off an amber glow, like the view through a tumbler of whiskey. The bar itself is a beauty in carved redwood and is as old as the saloon (103 years). The... More »
2004 | Most Improved DJ Club

The House of Shields used to serve mainly as a happy hour bar for the suits and stockings crowd, a place for a quick drink before heading back to the burbs. Hell, it still does. But thanks to new owners -- who reopened the downtown joint in September 2003 -- the venue now has a bunch of great late-night events, too. Run by some of the same Burning Man theme-campers who opened Sublounge, the House of Shields leans toward hip hop- and soul-themed parties, although there's plenty of pop, house,... More »

Bouncer Visits House of Shields, a Beer Cave for the Clipboard Peeps

By Katy St. Clair | Wed, October 12, 2011

From this week's Bouncer column: I found it ironic that I was walking to the House of Shields one afternoon when I found myself bombarded with people in bright pink T-shirts from Planned Parenthood. ... More »
Bouncer Spies the Clipboard Peeps at House of Shields

By Katy St. Clair | Wed, October 12, 2011

I found it ironic that I was walking to the House of Shields one afternoon when I found myself bombarded with people in bright pink T-shirts from Planned Parenthood. I, like most Tea Party Patriots, associate the organization with birth control, o... More »