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Trader Vic's San Francisco - Cosmo Place, San Francisco, CA (restaurant) |
8FT Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
Posts: 1211
From: Kansas City, MO
|  Posted: 2008-10-12 8:57 pm Permalink
Name:Trader Vic's San Francisco - Cosmo Place
Type:restaurant
Street:20 Cosmo Place
City:San Francisco
State:CA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:776-2232
Status:defunct
Description:
I don't think there is an existing thread dedicated to this SF Trader Vic's location. I would have added to one if it had already existed. Having never been to S.F. myself, I had to read up on things a bit to learn that there were 2 different locations. This one on Cosmo Place was open for approx. 4 decades (1951-the 1990's) while the second one lasted only about 3 years and closed in 2007.
At a neighbors yard sale I found an old travel magazine.
It is one of those free tourist type guide mags that are in hotel rooms for the out of town guests to use for locating places to shop and eat, etc. It is dated Nov. 24, 1979
On one page there is an ad for Trader Vic's. I think it is a clever ad for it's time.
After seeing this ad which measures 2 1/4" x 4 3/4" I began to wonder about the location of the restaurant featured on the cover.
After looking at a couple of pictures from this location on critiki, I would have to guess that this is not Trader Vic's but some other restaurant perhaps at Fisherman's Wharf?? The locals will probably know.
Anyway, then I started wondering about a sign that someone had pictured in their thread recently. I will try to find it and add it next.
OK, I found it. This is a sign still in place which is located where the TV's used to be.
This is from Kingstyedie and TravelingJones' little adventure. What a great time they had here:
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=29550&forum=5&hilite=bottle water
If you have other photos from this location feel free to add them on tho this thread. I also put the ad photo on Critiki.
[ This Message was edited by: 8FT Tiki 2008-10-12 21:18 ]
[ This Message was edited by: 8FT Tiki 2008-10-12 21:22 ]
[ This Message was edited by: 8FT Tiki 2008-10-12 21:24 ]
[ This Message was edited by: 8FT Tiki 2008-10-12 21:31 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 11003
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-10-13 8:11 pm Permalink
Can't leave such a post by a valiant urban archeologist standing empty! It is indeed sad that, while the San Francisco Trader Vic's only closed as recently as 1994, it is hard to find exterior shots of it...considering it was an S.F. institution for over 40 years (it opened in 1951).
Here is my bad shot of the entrance, from '94:
Now THOSE were Tiki doors! Wonder what happened to this amazing example of logo Tiki use:
Here is a B&W shot of the exterior in the early 50s, I haven't made a print of the neg yet, but we can see it did not change much in 40 years:
I only know one postcard of the interior, showing the Tiki (!) room:
and here two shots from the 70s, the first with the Tiki room Tapa in the foreground...
the second depicting another room
I really like the indirect lighting they used to have under the shelves with objects lining the walls, the Munich Trader Vic's still has that.
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Polynesiac
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 2079
From: San Pedro, CA
| Posted: 2008-10-14 2:48 pm Permalink
Here's an interior shot from a Time Life cook book from 1958:
Great shot of some of the drinks (one got cut off because the image is so large it didn't all fit on my scanner), a few tikis, patrons, and cool flotsam on the ceiling (including what looks like a bar stool!)
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 4074
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2008-10-14 9:02 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-10-13 20:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Can't leave such a post by a valiant urban archeologist standing empty!
I only know one postcard of the interior, showing the Tiki (!) room:
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Bigbro, I second the sentiment. Here are some more images.
There are actually a few other postcards from Trader Vics on Cosmo.
This is the Garden Room.
This is the Hong Kong Room
Here is an exterior painting postcard.
Finally these are some old photos from the San Francisco Examiner I saw on ebay some time ago that KC won. I did manage to capture the images.
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 11003
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2008-10-14 10:02 pm Permalink
Aaaah, you're back! Very nice, thank you!
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TravelingJones
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Posts: 897
From: Eastern Shores of Western Civilization
| Posted: 2008-10-15 3:29 pm Permalink
Great stuff here guys! I just figured this original SF location was probably, "yesterday's news" for most folks and I never thought of posting these other photos until now.
This is a series of pics taken on August 2008: Sign - Alley - Sign - 20 Cosmo.
 
 
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Trad'r Bill
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2008
Posts: 481
From: Hercules, CA
| Posted: 2009-08-16 1:07 pm Permalink
I found a bunch of 20 Cosmo photos while trying to find a pic of my sign I just got: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=33593&forum=5&2 Couldn't find my sign, but these ain't bad!
Here is where I found these: http://sflib1.sfpl.org:82/search~S0/?searchtype=X&searcharg=%22trader%22+vic*&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=X%22trader%22+vic
Trad'r Bill
[ This Message was edited by: Trad'r Bill 2010-03-02 22:29 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Trad'r Bill 2010-03-02 23:08 ]
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 4074
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2009-08-16 8:37 pm Permalink
Trad'r Bill,
Great photos and congrats on the sign.
Here is a rendering of the Cosmo Place entrance from the old TV scarf.
DC
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Trad'r Bill
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2008
Posts: 481
From: Hercules, CA
| Posted: 2010-03-02 11:14 pm Permalink
Here's a great shot in the Tiki Room - notice the Trader himself in the float:
From the Life Magazine archives.
-Trad'r Bill
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 4074
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-05-31 09:40 am Permalink
Old business card from the Cosmo Place TVs.
DC
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Pittsburgh pauly
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 31, 2010
Posts: 386
From: Pittsburgh
| Posted: 2010-09-25 10:05 am Permalink
From Andy Warhol's Diaries (selections published posthumously) :
Monday, February 21, 1977-Los Angeles-San Francisco
... "I had to stay around the gallery until 9:30. Mark's mother really made me work. Trader Vic's was just up the block. Walked there."...
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 4074
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-11-09 6:38 pm Permalink
I love this picture of the Cosmo Place Trader Vic's. A nicely dressed middle-aged women heading into Trader Vic's for a midday pick-me-up after a hard day of shopping in the City.
DC
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Trad'r Bill
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2008
Posts: 481
From: Hercules, CA
| Posted: 2010-11-17 10:35 pm Permalink
Here's a somewhat low-res shot of Cosmo Place I found online:
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 11003
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2010-11-18 11:03 am Permalink
Here is a photo from the mid-90s of Trader Vic C.E.O. Hans Richter giving me a tour of the already closed down San Francisco location:
Hans rose to his rank from being the manager of the Munich Vic's. The Trader was impressed by his work and brought him to America.
I got to go up to the hollowed grounds of the Trader's office. Wish I would have snapped more pics.
Here's a close up of the display case and its treasures. Note the "Pre-Tiki Tiki post" next to it:
The S.F Trader Vic opened two years after the Seattle Outrigger.
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 4074
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-11-29 3:20 pm Permalink
Bigbro,
What a treat that must have been to tour the closed Trader Vic's fully intact. Any more photos?
Here is an ad from Life Magazine for Balentine's Ale featuring a rendering of the San Francisco Trader Vic's.
DC
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