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Finocchio's was a nightclub and bar in San Francisco. The history of the club started as a speakeasy called the 201 Club in 1929, located at 406 Stockton Street. In 1933, with the repeal of prohibition, the club moved upstairs and started to offer female impersonation acts; after police raids in 1936 the club relocated to the larger 506 Broadway location. Finocchio's night club opened June 15, 1936 and was located in San Francisco, California, above Enrico's Cafe at 506 Broadway Street in North Beach. The term "Finocchio" is Italian for fennel but is often a negative term for gay.
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History
Joe Finocchio, the creator of the club, had the idea of a nightclub with female impersonators in costumes when a patron jokingly went on the stage of his club and did a routine that the crowd enjoyed. The club was not advertised as a gay club; it was advertised as a place for entertainment and fun. Both gay and straight performers worked there. The acts included varying ethnic-inspired performances such as geisha-style performances, which may have helped encourage tourists and contributed to the diverse, often racially diverse crowds, which was unusual during this time of segregation. In the days before gay liberation, female impersonator clubs provided semi-public social spaces for sexual minorities to congregate.
Finocchio's was "off limits" during World War II, not due to the entertainment, but rather for selling liquor to the military outside the authorized hours of sales. On December 31, 1943 the ban was lifted after Joe Finocchio and other bar owners signed an agreement to limit liquor sales to military personnel between 5 pm and midnight.
Finocchio's was a huge favorite with tourists from the 1930s to the early 1990s. Joe Finocchio died in January 1986. Eve Finocchio, Joe's widow, decided to close the club on November 27, 1999 because of a significant increase in the monthly rent and dwindling audience attendance.
Influence
Finocchio's often featured traditional drag, with performers in gowns singing or lip-synching to top 40 ballads.
A 14-page program, "Finocchio's: America's Most Unusual Nightclub", was published by Zevin-Present circa 1947.
After the closure, another San Francisco establishment called Harry Denton's Starlight Room started a drag show in 2006 called "Sunday's a Drag" a female impersonation show modeled after Finocchio's. These shows are hosted by Donna Sachet.
Notable acts
Artists who performed at Finocchio's included (in alphabetical order):