SAN FRANCISCO — An iconic lounge with one of the best views of the sunset in San Francisco is celebrating its 80th anniversary on Saturday.
The Top of the Mark bar will be the site of a big party that hearkens back to its days as a gathering place frequented by military members during World War Two.
Some sections are teeming with history, according to server Gloria Sullivan. There's Weeper's Corner, which overlooks Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The mournful name originated during the Second World War when sailors would say goodbye to loved ones or not return from combat as promised for a rendezvous in the watering hole, said Sullivan,
"People would say 'I'm going to meet you at the Top of the Mark' either going out or coming in," said Sulivan, who's worked there for 45 years. "Sometimes tears were shed both ways. Sometimes people didn't come back when the ship came back."
There's a bit of tradition in the liquor too, said the Mark's Director of Food and Beverage Jaap Bolens.
"Servicemen left their bottles here for their fellow squadron servicemen that came back from the war and actually have a shot on them," said Bolens. "They left notes on the bottles of which squadron it was from."
The tradition lives on now. Veterans still get a complementary shot from an ornate case stuffed with half-finished bottles wrapped in notes. Some on the shelf are from members of the military who served in Iraq.
Sullivan tells said that this custom ensures that Weeper’s Corner lives up to its name.
"I really like that we've kept that up," said Sullivan. "A lot of times I have to bring over a box of Kleenex for the guest and for myself."
