Having once earned the nickname “The City that Knows How” because of its ability to pull off amazing feats of engineering, such as the construction of the massive Hetch Hetchy reservoir soon after rebuilding in the wake of the earthquake and fires that devastated the city in 1906, the same sobriquet applies to modern-day San Francisco, but this time it pertains to its swagger in the convention market.
The City by the Bay booked 1,035 groups (representing more than 2 million room nights) over the next 21 years during its 2005-2006 fiscal year alone, according to the San Francisco CVB, with an additional 2,172 groups (and 5.6 million room nights) marked down on a tentative basis through 2030.
Its eclectic personality layers a “belle of the ball” elegance with a wanton spirit one can never quite keep contained. She’s the prettiest girl in class, with perhaps a tattoo or two and now sporting a laptop over her shoulder.
Along with her vibrant neighborhoods, world-class cuisine and colorful Victorians, San Francisco has also boasted more than a few colorful characters through the years, and one such these days is Harry Denton. And in this town, it’s only appropriate that he runs his own bar.
“The diversity, the hills, the cable cars, the people are wonderful,” Denton, who operates Harry Denton’s Starlight Room (www.harrydenton.com) on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, says of the things that make San Francisco special to him. “I came here in 1965 from a small town in Idaho right in the middle of the Haight-Ashbury [era], so I’m a 22-year-old kid saying, ‘Jesus Christ’ I moved to the right city.’ I reached my dreams here, so it’s fabulous.”
Denton got his big break courtesy of another San Francisco legend, the late columnist Herb Caen.
“The smartest thing I ever did before I opened my bar was I got a waiter’s maitre de job at the Washington Square Bar & Grill—all the press hung out there,” Denton remembers. “It was probably the best p.r. move I ever did. I got a write-up from him the first day, so that didn’t hurt at all.”
Denton finally realized his dream and opened his first bar, Harry’s on Fillmore, in 1980.
“There were 60 people in line at 5:30 in the afternoon, and I just screamed,” Denton says. “It was the biggest rush I’ve ever had besides sex.”
Denton’s Starlight Room also offers buyouts for special events.
For their money, clients get a panoramic view stretching from the Theater district and downtown to Telegraph Hill and the Bay Bridge, while soaking up the room’s unabashed, plush interior design. Denton makes sure to add that the No. 2 attraction is the cocktail waitress’ dresses, which he designs himself.
Apart from lavishing praise on his own digs and over-the-top, endearing sense of style, Denton isn’t afraid to gild the lily when it comes to ladling out some love on his adopted hometown.
“When you talk about this city, it compares with New York and Europe and everything,” Denton enthuses. “I think the symphony and the opera are fantastic—considered two of the best in the world. I have a fantasy on my 70th birthday of playing the piano with the symphony.”
It’s no surprise that a guy who owns the Starlight Room would shoot for the stars.
