The Marines' Memorial Club in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

at 609 Sutter Street (at Mason), is a 501(c)19 nonprofit veterans charity and private social club for United States Marines and other veterans of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

. The nonprofit Marines' Memorial Association owns the large building in the

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

neighborhood of San Francisco that houses a hotel, theater, restaurant/bar, sports club, special event facilities, library, museum,

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

, and a military history bookstore. The facility was built as the Western Women's Club in 1926.

History

As a port city, San Francisco has, since its founding by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, been associated with military personnel -especially the navy- and merchant mariners. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was a point of embarkation for many sailors in the Pacific, who would keep fond memories of their few days in the city before leaving for the war. The Marines' Memorial was opened as a club for veterans of the Marines, although membership is open to all United States servicemembers. Early in 1946, the

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

, General

Alexander A. Vandegrift General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, USMC (March 13, 1887 – May 8, 1973) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general. During World War II, he commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of the war, the Bat ...

, had proposed a "living memorial" to Marine casualties from the

War in the Pacific The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

. A group of Marines arranged to buy a building owned by a

women's club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

at Mason Street and Sutter Street in San Francisco, whose members they had met through their participation in the wartime

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

program. The club opened on November 10, 1946, the anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. The theater predates the club, and was part of the original 1926 building. In its early days it hosted nationwide radio broadcasts by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

, Jack Benny and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

. It later housed the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, which produced plays by Arthur Miller,

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

, and Bertholt Brecht. It was also the first home of the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Ameri ...

. Today the association has 21,000 members from all branches of the United States military,

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

, and the Public Health Service, mostly from California.

Features

The Marines' Memorial is housed in a 12-story Spanish Colonial-style building built in 1926 as the "Western Women's Club", a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. It was bought by the association in 1946. The most noticeable features are a 650-seat

repertory theater A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

and a lobby display of military memorabilia, most notably the

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of s ...

from the USS ''San Francisco''. It also includes two restaurants (including the club's "

Leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the USA for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fro ...

Grill" steakhouse) and a

Club One Club One Fitness Centers (Club One Inc.) was a San Francisco-based chain of health clubs and in-house gymnasium facilities managed on behalf of corporate clients. The chain was founded in 1991 by a husband and wife team who had operated health c ...

fitness center. The building also includes the Tribute Memorial Wall, a private

to American troops killed in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and war in Afghanistan.

References

External links

*
Official theater website
{{commons category, position=left Clubs and societies in California Buildings and structures in San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco Clubhouses in California Theatres in San Francisco Gentlemen's clubs in California Culture of San Francisco Organizations based in San Francisco Organizations associated with the United States Marine Corps

History

Features

See also

References

External links