Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe

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Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe
Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe
General information
StatusUsed for other businesses
Address478 Green Street
Town or city San Francisco, California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 37°48′00″N122°24′26″W / 37.7999°N 122.4071°W / 37.7999; -122.4071
Year(s) built1908 (1908)
Renovated1956
Closed1984
Design and construction
Architect(s)Unknown [1]
Designated1981-06-07
Reference no.127 [2]

The Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe is a historic commercial building, first built for industrial purposes in 1908, located in North Beach, San Francisco. It was converted from a spaghetti factory to a restaurant by Frederick Walter Kuh in 1956. [1] [3] It was listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark on June 7, 1981. [2]

Contents

History

The building that would later become the Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe was originally a "barn like, wood-frame building", first constructed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was first used to manage imported olive oil and cheese; it was later used as a factory for bottling seltzer water. Before it became the restaurant, it was owned by three Italian-American men named Baccigalupi, Casaretto, and Demartini, who operated a spaghetti factory out of it. The building was heavily damaged in a fire in January 1954, requiring later remodeling. [4] [5]

Frederick Walter Kuh first moved to San Francisco in 1954, where he worked at a nightclub, The Purple Onion. He opened the restaurant, also described as a nightclub and a cabaret club, after pressure from friends over finding a new place to store his collection of Victorian style furniture in 1956. [3] He recruited his friend George Donald Currie, who had experience running a nightclub in Paris after World War II, to run the kitchen. [6] [7] The restaurant quickly became a popular hangout spot, and Kuh was later said to be the "father of funk" by journalist Herb Caen. [4] It was a popular gathering spot for beatniks at the time. [8] Kuh retired in 1984 and sold the restaurant, which closed, with its decorations being sold at auction. [3] [9]

Legacy

Robin Williams performed at the Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe early in his career, and participated in a "Save the Old Spaghetti Factory!" benefit in the 1980s. [1] [10] Adlai Stevenson II used it as an "unofficial local headquarters" for his 1956 presidential campaign. [3] The Macaroni Show, a 1962 variety show that evolved into Beach Blanket Babylon , and Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera started in the "Blue Noodle Room" at the Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe. [4]

The new owner of the building that housed the Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe was issued a cease and desist order for modifying a Historic Landmark building without proper approval on February 1, 1985, the first time that any incidents had happened since the system had been established. He was fined $500 (equivalent to $1,462in 2024) for each day that the building was in non-compliance. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "San Francisco City Planning Comission Resolution No. 8882" (PDF). SF Planning GIS. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "SAN FRANCISCO PRESERVATION BULLETIN NO. 9" (PDF). SF Planning. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pimsleur, J.L. (November 12, 1997). "OBITUARY -- Frederick Walter Kuh". SFGate . Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Noyes, Mary Tolaro (May 2001). "Freddy Kuh's Victorian Kitsch, Declasse Furniture, Baubles and Gewgaws". The Semaphore. No. 156. Telegraph Hill Dwellers. pp. 26–27, 32.
  5. ↑ Petrin, Katherine (February 2012). "The Old Spaghetti Factory: Unassuming and Significant". The Semaphore. No. 197. Telegraph Hill Dwellers. p. 4.
  6. ↑ "CURRIE, George Donald". SFGate . April 7, 2002. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  7. ↑ Stout, Doug (November 3, 2018). "Veteran column: Currie taken prisoner during WWII". The Newark Advocate . Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  8. ↑ Marech, Rona (December 15, 2000). "Enigmatic Millie Timeless Fixture in North Beach". SFGate . Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Spaghetti Factory closes with auction". United Press International . March 19, 1984. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  10. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter; Garchik, Leah; Lewis, David (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams' heart never strayed far from San Francisco". SFGate . Archived from the original on May 12, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Old Spaghetti Factory Cafe Cease and Desist Order". Telegraph Hill Semaphore. No. 90. Telegraph Hill Dwellers. February 1985. pp. 16–17.
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