The Cobweb Palace was a popular saloon and restaurant at

Meiggs Wharf Meiggs' Wharf (also known as Meigs Wharf and Meiggs' Pier) was an L-shaped wooden pier extending between from the northern San Francisco shoreline, an exceptional distance for its time. It was built to attract the lumber shipping trade by transp ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

during and after the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

. It was run by eccentric "Old Abe" Warner, who traded drinks for exotic pets, curios, and pieces of scrimshaw as well as money. An old, physically disabled sailor sold peanuts outside. The Palace was popular with seafarers, tourists, and locals alike. Old Abe's menu included free chowder,

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, and local French bread, but not straight whisky, which he thought of as a lesser drink. There was a shooting gallery, and the bar was a few steps below the sidewalk.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

may have visited the place.

History

The Cobweb Palace was opened at the foot of Meiggs Wharf, on the intersection of Francisco, Mason, and Powell Streets in 1856 after the Meiggses had left and the wharf was ownerless. Abe served patrons of all classes. The bar was named the Cobweb Palace because Warner, who refused to kill spiders, left strands of their webs everywhere. His bar's entrance was flanked by two

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

n totem poles. Warner sold the bar in 1893, and died in 1896 at the age of eighty to eighty two. The bar closed due to competing amusements and changes in the North Beach neighborhood. The location is now a post office and restaurant.

Collection

Warner's collection included live bears, kangaroos, parrots, cats, dogs, bats, and monkeys, among other animals. He also collected weapons, scrimshaw, totem poles, old coins, quartz, taxidermy,

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

masks, thousands of paintings, and other treasures. One parrot of his was named Warner Grandfather and could swear in four languages, as well as order a " rum and gum." He spent very little feeding his animals due to their eating leftovers and stealing peanuts from the peanut vendor who sat outside. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs, but Abe himself was neatly groomed. Charles Warren Stoddard compared the state of the bar to a witch's home and spoke of its musty smell. Some of the scrimshaw is now located at Mystic Seaport in Mystic,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

In popular culture

Both Abe and his Palace are mentioned throughout the book ''The Doctor's Newfound Family'' by Valerie Hansen. It is also included in issue number 31 of Sandman comics by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. The Cobweb Palace and its clients and proprietor are also featured in ''Sunset Specters'' by

Gary Jonas Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobweb Palace 19th century in San Francisco 1897 disestablishments in California 1856 establishments in California Restaurants in San Francisco

History

Collection

In popular culture

See also

References

External links