one of the coolest old bars in -OAKLAND-

unfortunately it's getting surrounded
by parking garages and big business.
definitely can't park your hawg in
front no more. here is some history:







Opened in 1883 by Johnny Heinold as J.M. Heinold's Saloon, this Historic Landmark looked much then as she does today. She was built right here in 1880 from the timbers of an old whaling ship over the water in a dock area that even then was at the foot of Webster Street. For nearly three years, the building was used as a bunk house by the men working the nearby oyster beds. Then in 1883, Johnny's $100 purchase, with the aid of a ship's carpenter, was transformed into a saloon where seafaring and waterfront men could feel at ease.

During the 1920's, the ferry that ran between Alameda and Oakland stopped next to Heinold's. Alameda was a dry city at the time, and this bar was truly a commuter's First and Last Chance for a refreshment. As the years wore on, many servicemen left for overseas from the Port of Oakland, and the First and Last tradition stuck, so the name of the saloon was officially changed to Heinold's First and Last Chance.

In the years that followed, an inordinate number of writers, adventurers, politicians, and humble folk like you and me have enjoyed the ambiance and the history of this unique bit of Oakland. So listen to a few tales that can be told here.

It is for good reason that this is known as Jack London's Rendezvous. As a schoolboy, Jack London studied at these same tables we still use today. Later, he would return to his favorite table and write notes for The Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild. At age 17, he confided to John Heinold his ambition to go to the University of California and become a writer. Johnny lent London the money for tuition and, although he never got beyond his first year, it was while studying at this saloon and listening to the stories of shipmates and stevedores that he developed his thirst for adventure. The theme of men bravely facing danger appears throughout the best of his works. Indeed Johnny Heinold and The First and Last Chance Saloon are referenced seventeen times in London's novel John Barleycorn. Heinold's saloon was where he met Alexander McLean, known for such cruelty at sea that his boat was nicknamed The Hell Ship. At the time of its writing, McLean became a model for London's Wolf Larsen in The Sea Wolf. With the help of Johnny Heinold, the deals for London's three ships, the Razzle Dazzle, the Snark and the Roamer were struck in this bar.

Jack London is not the only spirit that keeps us company in these walls. Oakland mayor John L. Davie brought President William Howard Taft in for relaxation and refreshments. Robert Louis Stevenson spent time here while waiting for his ship to be outfitted for his final cruise to Samoa. Other notables to sit at this bar include Joaquin Miller, Robert Service, Charles E. Markham, Earle Gardner, Erskine Caldwell, Ambrose Bierce, and Rex Beach.