The History of St. Mary’s

Researched and written by members of the E Clampus Vitus Society (March 24, 2018)

Overview

St. Mary’s Pub was named after the long-gone Roman Catholic college that defined this top-of-the-hill neighborhood. This Repeal Bar is officially on the edge of the Bernal Heights district, while across Mission Street is the Glen Park district. The Excelsior District is not far away, just south down the hill on Mission Street, across the bridge over the modern freeway. This hilltop was originally known as University Mound, then later College Hill. According to Sanborn Insurance maps, this location at 3845 Mission Street was an empty lot in 1915. The current building was constructed between 1915 and 1925.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

By the time that St. Mary’s College was constructed in 1862, this part of Mission Street was just a dirt path known as the Old Mission Road to San Jose. Since the 1870s, this trail on the promontory has always had a bar in one form or another, on this windswept hill. John Resing ran his farm and saloon, “The Farmer’s Exchange” at 3884 Mission Street from 1872 to 1904. William Sturke ran his saloon & boardinghouse called the “Summit House” here on the west side of Mission Street from 1873 to 1878. Nearby was Charles Luttringer’s saloon from 1883 to 1894. A bit north at 3701 Mission Street and Highland Avenue was the “Cape Horn Saloon” run by Martin Bahrt from 1893 to 1903; then, either his wife, daughter, or niece, Johanna Bahrt assumed proprietorship from 1904-1905. ​(It’s no surprise that this saloon was named after the infamous gale-force winds that torment the southern tip of South America. This hilltop was a windy place for decades, before the planting of trees, vegetation, and buildings that blunted the wind’s force.) ​Today, the structure still survives, and the business serves as a convenience store. Others bars would follow over the years, up to Prohibition in 1920.

SAINT MARY’S PUB

The first recorded business here at the northeast corner of Mission Street and Crescent was the “Crescent Candy Store” opening up in 1925, and run by John A. Drake. The tradition told at the bar today is that this was also an ice cream and soda fountain, as well as a confectionery. Drake ran the business until 1929.

Next came “Olcott’s Candy Store” in 1930, operated by Walter G. Olcott. By 1931, the business address was renumbered from 3841 Mission Street to the current address, 3845 Mission Street. In 1932 Clara M. Olcott took over the shop, where she ran it into 1933.

By December 5, 1933 National Prohibition was finally repealed after a 13 year drought of federally-enforced temperance. Thousands scrambled to purchase liquor licenses because the bar trade was the business to make good money. A still unknown owner opened St. Mary’s Tavern here, honoring the name of the long gone college. The suffix “tavern” was a popular term of the day that many Repeal bars used in their monikers. The older suffix “saloon” had become a dirty word by the turn of the twentieth century because of fanatical “dry” organizations like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League. Thus St. Mary’s Tavern was born, using the telephone number MIssion-9029.

Rose L. Pacheco is the earliest known proprietress of St. Mary’s bar, operating it in 1935, and running a small restaurant here as well. By 1936 Arthur Gwilliam had taken over. He lived upstairs with his wife Agnes. (Gwilliam had run a billiard hall at 931 Market Street in the Financial District in 1934.) From 1937 to 1938 Leda A. Wallgren was running the bar. She teamed up with Leon L. Weber in 1939, and together the partners ran it until 1942.

SUFFIX NAME CHANGE

By 1943 Peter W. Cancilla bought the business. Under his proprietorship the name was changed from the now old-fashioned suffix of “tavern” to the more popular “pub” as many other bars at the time implemented. (Other new suffixes used in the 1940s and 1950s were “club” and “bar”) Cancilla would continue to operate the bar to at least 1951.

Later in the 1950s, a proprietor named “Red” implemented an unusual payment plan for his customers. Patrons were charged per person, not per drink, depending on the length of their visit. This was an old-school bar practice to give regulars a financial break and hopefully encourage them to return.

At some point a violent incident is said to have occurred here, which may or may not be true. The bar legend is that a patron was shot and killed inside the bar. The tale has persisted over the years. This may lend some credence to another bar-legend about St. Mary’s, that the place is haunted. During the late hours, some bartenders have reported that noises are made, voices are heard and a presence can be felt. But the general feeling is that the spirit is friendly and not threatening. By the 1960s Margaret Herbert (“Marge”) took over ownership and ran the bar benevolently for some 30 years. She was beloved by the regulars, a staple of the neighborhood. By the late 1980s the kitchen was closed and removed. She turned over management of the bar in the 1990s, much to the dismay of the loyal customers. After that, the bar became run down and fell on hard times. She sold the business in 2004.

RENAISSANCE

The bar then went up for sale again in 2010 and Maria Davis, seeing potential in the place, bought it. She remodeled it, ultimately returning it to its former glory. The establishment became clean and safe, and she began making some of the best Bloody Marys in the entire city. Under her leadership, St. Mary’s Pub was awarded “Best Bloody Marys in San Francisco” from two local newspapers for multiple years, and in 2015, was recognized by USA Today magazine on the top ten list of best Bloody Marys served in the United States. Today St. Mary’s is the oldest Repeal Bar in San Francisco with the same name. In January of 2019, the bar was recognized as a Legacy Business by the City of San Francisco.