An era has ended. The Owl Tree bar in Nob Hill had been the home roost of a curmudgeonly old owner/bartender, who ran his bar with an iron fist and will to match. He would open and close the bar on his own time schedule - often shutting it down at 9pm, what would normally be peak bar patron hours, simply because he'd gotten tired, or was unhappy with the particular evening's clientele. He'd refuse to make 'fancy drinks' or drinks that were too much work (bloody mary's fell into this catagory, but he'd usually agree to make you JUST ONE, but if you expressed adequate appreciation, he just might make you JUST ONE more).
The bar itself was top to bottom, lock, stock and barrel, an homage to the owl. Framed owl posters and owl paintings on black velvet. Circa-70's macrame owls hung before gilded owl-themed mirrors, ceramic owls perched from every available sill space. After visiting the Owl Tree, a woman brought in her parent's 1970's owl-themed toilet seat and lid, salvaged from a recent remodel. The artifacts were promptly installed.
It's been a few years since I've stopped in at the Owl Tree, but it was a beckoning glow I'd often pass on my walk home from work. A few months ago it was shuttered, and while I speculated wildly about the curmudgeon, signs on the facade cited repairs due to water damage. It lay dormant for several months - longer than a mere water line repair would warrant - and again I wondered.
The Owl Tree has since reopened, it's interior stripped of the name-influenced paraphanalia, and replaced with deep toned pleather booths and etched glass partitions sporting a single, dignified owl motif.
Not quite the same.
While I bemoan the demise of a kitschy city landmark, I have to admit that the facelift has an aspect that I DO love: the bar facade has been recreated with a grey-scale mosaic of the namesake creature, and quite nicely done, in my opinion. While it's no owl toilet-seat lid, it's a nice touch.
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