In 1922 Agostino Giantoli immigrated to the United States from Tuscany, Italy. It took him five years before he finally settled in San Francisco, getting a job as a janitor at the Palace Hotel[1] and then working as a cook at a restaurant in the Financial District[2]. His young boss called him “Bimbo” (the Italian nickname for boy) and the name stuck. In 1931 Bimbo and that same boss opened the 365 Club at 365 Market. There was alcohol served in coffee cups (it opened during Prohibition[3]) and after-hours gambling, but the establishment was deemed a legitimate supper club with dinner served at 6pm, dancing at 7, and select performances featuring chorus girls at 8, 10 and 1am.
The same year that Club 365 opened, another supper club, Ban Taborin, re-opened at 1025 Columbus after being remodeled by Timothy Pflueger[4]. While the exterior was completely unassuming, the interior was opulently decorated in a lavish Art Deco style. When Prohibition was finally repealed in 1933, Ban Taborin became the first establishment in California to be granted a liquor license. Club 365 and others soon followed. Hollywood A-listers traveled from Los Angeles to see the shows at Ban Taborin which included jugglers, chorus girls, comics and crooners. In 1936 13-year-old Ann Miller was hired as a chorus girl after she lied about her age. She was spotted by Lucille Ball and an RKO Pictures studio agent who signed Miller to RKO shortly thereafter. Her machine-gun tap-dancing and super fast spins made her a movie star. Her legs would eventually be insured for $1,000,000.
In 1951 the 365 Club closed and Bimbo Giantoli took over management of Ban Taborin, renaming it Bimbo’s 365. He moved his most famous 365 Club attraction, The Girl in the Fishbowl, to the new location and placed it behind the magnificent bar. The Girl in the Fishbowl was a risqué act where hidden mirrors and special effects made it look like a topless “mermaid” was relaxing and swimming in a tank of seawater. Bimbo had mermaids etched into the mirrors and windows, and a large white marble mermaid statue was made for the lobby. Bimbo’s 365 remained a successful supper club throughout the 1950s.
Most of San Francisco’s nightclub owners and employees were Italian, and many sent their daughters to St. Rose Academy[5] where my mother Anne also attended high school. When she was 15, a parent employee working at Bimbo’s 365 allowed a group of St. Rose students and their prom dates into the club. They were not served alcohol but they were allowed to sit in the bar undisturbed. I can only imagine the look on my young mother’s face when she was seated facing The Girl in the Fishbowl.
Bimbo Giantoli retired in 1970 and for the next 18 years the building was only opened for private parties. In 1988 Giantoli’s grandson reopened the club, and today it hosts private parties, special events, concerts and fundraisers[6].
[1] Palace Hotel: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3616
[2] Financial District: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4109
[3] Prohibition: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5365
[4] Timothy Pflueger: story coming November 17th
[5] St Rose Academy: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3404
[6] Visit them https://bimbos365club.com
