Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

Two establishments representative of San Francisco's most rowdy era were the El Dorado and the Parker House. Located on Kearny, across the street from Portsmouth Square, they were variously used as saloons, gambling houses, and brothels in the period beginning in 1849 and extending into the 1850s.

Standing at the southeast corner of Washington and Kearny Streets was the El Dorado. Starting as a fifteen by twenty- five foot canvas tent, the El Dorado soon came to occupy a four-story, fireproof building constructed in the summer of 1851. The 50-vara (vara is an obsolete Spanish unit of measurement roughly analogous to a yard) corner lot occupied by the saloon originally belonged to one Pedro Sherback, whose small frame house stood on the land prior to 1849. In its heyday the El Dorado rented for $40,000 a year. The building was subsequently used by the City was the Hall of Records.

Next door to the El Dorado, on Kearny Street, stood the Parker House, a three-story frame building which cost $30,000 to build in 1849. The fifty by one hundred foot saloon reportedly rented for $120,000 a year, half of which was paid by gamblers occupying the first and second floors. Sleeping rooms were located on the third floor. The establishment sported massive chandeliers, mirrors, two billiard rooms and two bar rooms. The seven gaming tables on the first floor were devoted to faro, monte, and roulette. French and Spanish hostesses attended to the customers. The building reportedly burnt down and was rebuilt three times. The Jenny Lind Theater, owned by a gambler named Maguire, came to occupy the floor above the gaming area. Robert Parker, the builder, who was later to go broke, had an office in the building. The lot became the site of San Francisco's second City Hall, constructed in Greek Revival style in 1851. This was replaced in 1895 by the old Hall of Justice, which burned in the 1906 fire and was replaced.

The sites of the El Dorado and the Parker House are now occupied by the Hilton San Francisco Financial District.