Condor Club

37°47′53″N 122°24′24″W The Condor Club nightclub is a striptease bar or topless bar in the North Beach section of San Francisco, California[1] The club became famous in 1964 as the first fully topless nightclub in America, featuring the dancer Carol Doda wearing a monokini.[2]

The club in 1973
Historical marker commemorating the Condor Club as the world's first topless and bottomless entertainment venue
The club in 2017
The Condor Club, Big Al's, Roaring 20's and the Hungry Club lit up at night, September 1983

History

The club opened in 1958 and primarily operated as a music venue, putting on acts including Bobby Freeman, The Righteous Brothers and Sly Stone.[3] Located at the corner of Broadway and Columbus Avenue,[4] the venue had been a small bar for most of the 1900s. Known as the Pisco Bar, it was purchased by Mario Puccinili who called it Pucci's House of Pisco. It was sold a couple of times and by 1958 it was owned by Gino Del Prete. Pete Mattioli[5] became Gino's partner in 1958 and promoted the club, which became a jumpin’ jivin’ entertainment center of North Beach, featuring George and Teddy and the Condors. In 1963, they hired a cocktail waitress named Carol Doda. She began topless dancing at the club on the evening of 19 June 1964, wearing the new monokini topless swimsuit. She was the first topless entertainer there and the most famous.[6][7]

In 1969 Doda began dancing fully nude, or "bottomless", at the club. This led to naked dancing becoming a popular act for nightclub performers until 1972 when it was made illegal in Californian establishments that served alcohol. Doda continued dancing topless at the club until 1985, and a large neon-lit billboard sign was erected in front of the club featuring a picture of her with red flashing lights on the image of her breasts to represent her nipples.[8]

A bizarre death occurred at the Condor Club in November 1983. Bouncer Jimmy Ferrozzo and his girlfriend, exotic dancer Theresa Hill, decided after hours, to have sexual intercourse on the famous white piano on which Carol Doda made her entrance, being lowered from the ceiling by cables. They accidentally hit the "on" switch, and the piano rapidly rose to the ceiling, trapping the couple. Ferrozzo was asphyxiated, while Hill survived only because she was thinner than her companion.[9][10]

The club closed in 2000, but soon reopened as a sports bar/bistro.[11] Between 2005 and 2007, it was Andrew Jaeger's House of Seafood & Jazz, a branch of the owner's original restaurant in New Orleans. However, in August 2007, it once again became the Condor Club, once more featuring go-go dancers. The current Condor Club is branded as "San Francisco's Original Gentlemen's Club."[12]

In 2022 the Condor Club was added to the San Francisco Legacy Business registry, a program aimed at supporting historic businesses in the city.[2]

In the media

The book Three Nights at The Condor (2018) by Benita Mattioli, the wife of Pete Mattioli, tells the story of the club and the people involved with it. A documentary, Topless at The Condor, is due out in 2023.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Nudity, Noise Pay Off in Bay Area Night Clubs", Los Angeles Times (February 14, 1965) Page G5.
  2. Donchey, Sara (19 November 2022). "Pioneering topless nightclub named a San Francisco 'Legacy Business'". CBS News. San Francisco.
  3. Koehn, Josh (14 November 2022). "Condor Club, 'World's First Topless Bar,' Will Get Boost From the City". The San Francisco Standard.
  4. Staff (April 28, 1982) "Silicon made topless dancing blossom", p.21 Chicago Daily Herald
  5. Mattioli, Benita (2018). Three Nights at the Condor: A Coal Miner's Son, Carol Doda, and the Topless Revolution. Keisho Publications. ISBN 978-0-578-41667-0. OCLC 1126571338.
  6. "California Solons May Bring End To Go-Go-Girl Shows In State", Panama City News, (September 15, 1969) Page 12A.
  7. "Naked Profits". The New Yorker. 2004-07-12. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  8. "Carol Doda, stripper - obituary". The Telegraph. UK. 24 November 2015.
  9. "Condor Club | North Beach, San Francisco". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  10. TAYLOR, DAN (17 January 2020). "Local writer bares all about The Condor nightclub and topless dancer Carol Doda". Sonoma Index-Tribune. Sonoma Media Investments. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. "North Beach, San Francisco: The Beat Goes On". Offbeat Travel. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  12. "Condor Club San Francisco, CA - Original Strip Club Since 1965". condorsf.com. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
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