Thursday's Flight of the Phoenix (Hotel)

San Francisco hospitality has taken a lot of hits in the last decade, especially during the pandemic.  With so many classic and unique hotels closed or repurposed, they have become a blur to me.

But then there is the Phoenix Hotel. 

A true icon of San Francisco hospitality with a storied history that spans the Rock and Roll generation.  Sadly, after almost 70 years it is slated to close on January 2nd, 2026.  Unless of course an angel investor, or eccentric millionaire with a love of pop music history, saves it.  For generations the Phoenix Hotel was the first and only stop for many famous musicians. 

Maybe because it had a parking lot which could accommodate tour busses?  Maybe it is because it looks like a pastel-themed Miami Beach motel with a pool.  Maybe because it was in the heart of the Tenderloin?  And maybe because it was within a mile of some of the greatest music venues in San Francisco:  The Warfield Auditorium, The Great American Music Hall, The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, The Victoria Theater,  and of course the Fillmore Auditorium.  Regardless of the reason, it was where famous, and infamous, musicians called home while in San Francisco. 

Rumor has it that Neil Young lived there while he was recording the Deja Vu Album with Crosby, Stills, and Nash.  Another awkward moment in the Phoenix's history happened when Blondies' Debbie Harry and JFK Jr. were accidentally checked into the same room.

It is also said that Linda Ronstadt rented out the entire hotel on more than one occasion when she was in town while on tour.  And SFGate reported that Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, once called the Phoenix “the most sexually, intellectually, and culturally stimulating hotel in San Francisco.”

The Phoenix once again crept into Rock and Roll legend when Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain, tragically took his own life.  That is part of history.  What is not well known was that in his pocket, on the day he died, was a note written on Phoenix Hotel stationary.  Though only a two-star hotel, its reputation as a sanctuary for musicians was well established and welcomed everyone from David Bowie to Arlo Guthrie.

I had a special relationship with the Phoenix Hotel, and not because I am a just chronicler of San Francisco hotel history and culture.  When I was working on a film degree at San Francisco State University, it was difficult for students to shoot on location as the city provided no assistance to film students.  That meant if you were a student filmmaker and wanted to shoot on location you either had to do it Guerilla-style and hope you didn't get caught or pay the required city film permit fees and insurance.  As most film students had little money, they often crossed their fingers and hoped for the former.

Not the Phoenix.  Their attitude was, use any room you like, shoot in any area you like.  You just had to leave it more pristine than you found it.  And if you broke it, you bought it. Full stop.

At the end of the Spring semester, San Francisco State University film students share the projects they had worked on over the previous year.  And any film submitted was shared with their fellow students in the university's theater.  Because the Phoenix Hotel was so accommodating and accessible to SFSU film students, many of them often created a story which took place in the Phoenix because you could always shoot it there.  I don't know how many students did that over time, but the Phoenix Hotel became a familiar location, and a reoccurring theme, in many SFSU student films.

The Phoenix hotel holds a special place in my heart, both professionally and personally.  Like the Montreux Casino or the American Pie, The Phoenix Hotel will soon be the stuff of Rock and Roll (and San Francisco hospitality) legend.

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