The House Of Shields has been a mainstay of libations and frivolity in downtown San Francisco for 100 years, weathering the decades with the grace and charm of her carved redwood bar and Victorian fixtures.

"The history of House of Shields is a bit murky, but as near as I can make out from the various sources I consulted, it was opened in 1908 by a man named Eddie Shields. (Other accounts explain the Shields name by saying the establishment was opened by an Irishman who liked to collect shields.) Its trademark wooden bar was originally intended to go in the Pied Piper room of the famous Palace Hotel across the street, but was apparently sold to Shields when installation of Maxfield Parrish's seven-by-sixteen foot painting of the Pied Piper did not leave enough room for the bar.

"Time Stands Still at the House of Shields" says the headline of a yellowed clipping from San Francisco Chronicle columnist Charles McCabe that is displayed in the window, and this is certainly true at least as far as the décor. The tile floor, heavy wood paneling, game trophies, carved wooden booths and Victorian statuary-to say nothing of the aforementioned bar-all belong to a turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century aesthetic. In fact, the saloon was the last in San Francisco to place stools along the brass foot rail (in 1986), displacing some spittoons in the process. And if that doesn't invest the place with enough of a storied past for you, the basement, which houses a private dining room and wine cellar, was once a speakeasy." - Mark Coggins

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SF Bay Guardian - Best of the Bay 2008 Classics of SF

SF Weekly - Most Improved DJ night 2004

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