Heinold’s First and Last Chance Bar: Inspiration for Jack London
At the edge of the Oakland waterfront in Jack London Square, a rickety wooden saloon seems to have washed up from some other place in time. The saloon is in fact Heinold’s First and Last Chance Bar, and made from the planks of an old whaling ship more than 120 years ago, it looks every bit its age. But that Old World charm and the uncanny preservation of an era gone by is what makes this watering hole distinct from any other.
A National Literary Landmark, Heinold’s is a historic building with a lot of memories to speak of. At the same time, people of every generation are welcome to come in, have a drink, and make a few memories of their own.
Back in the day, Heinold’s First and Last Chance Bar was a place where waterfront commuters, seafarers, and servicemen could relax and share comraderie. It was also a place where artists and politicians sat shoulder to shoulder with workaday folks, sharing stories along with their pitchers of beer.
A writer would find inspiration in this, and sure enough, a famous writer has come to be associated not only with this bar, but the entire area in which it’s located. Jack London began studying at Heinold’s as a schoolboy, and many of his novels, like The Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild, were supposedly written from the bar’s sturdy wooden tables – the same tables that are still there today.
As if the age-old wooden walls and decades of paraphernalia tacked onto them aren’t memorable enough, the bar is famous for something else: it’s slanted floor. It’s no subtle slant, either. From one end of the single-room bar to the other, you can definitely see and feel the change of balance, and tourists and locals alike have stopped on by just to see the phenomenon.
The floor was damaged irreversibly in the San Francisco Earthquake of 1905, but the drinks are still poured and the conversations keep on going. It’s just another unique feature in a very unique establishment.
Hours: Monday 3:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Tuesday - Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Posted by Renee Rutledge
