The Pacific-Union Club is a social club located at 1000 California Street in San Francisco, California, at the top of Nob Hill. It is considered to be the most elite club of the West Coast,[ citation needed ] and one of the most elite clubs in the United States, along with the Knickerbocker Club in New York, [1] [2] [3] the Metropolitan Club in Washington D.C., and the Somerset Club in Boston.
It was founded in 1889, as a merger of two earlier clubs: the Pacific Club (founded 1852) and the Union Club (founded 1854). The clubhouse was built as the home for silver magnate James Clair Flood. The former Flood Mansion was designed by Canadian architect Augustus Laver and is located in the Nob Hill neighborhood. The reconstruction and expansion of the original Mansion into the clubhouse was designed by Willis Polk. It is considered the first brownstone constructed west of the Mississippi River. Along with the Fairmont Hotel across the street, it was the only structure in the area to survive the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.
The club figured prominently in the history of the west coast of the United States.
Many notable citizens have been Pacific-Union Club members, including:
Pacific Union Club Punch is a drink named after the Pacific-Union Club in William "Cocktail" Boothby's 1908 work The World's Drinks And How To Mix Them [5] with the recipe:
For a party of ten. Into a large punch-bowl place ten tablespoonfuls of bar sugar and ten tablespoonfuls of freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice. Add two jiggers of Curaçao and dissolve the whole in about a quart of effervescent water. Add two quarts of champagne and one bottle of good cognac. Stir thoroughly, ice, decorate and serve in thin glassware.
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.
William Randolph Hearst Sr. was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboyant methods of yellow journalism influenced the nation's popular media by emphasizing sensationalism and human interest stories. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 with Mitchell Trubitt after being given control of The San Francisco Examiner by his wealthy father, Senator George Hearst.
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located 17 miles (27 km) south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Burlingame to the north, San Mateo to the east, Highlands-Baywood Park to the south, and Interstate 280 to the west. The population was 11,387 at the 2020 census.
William Redington Hewlett was an American engineer and the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).
Warren Augustine Bechtel was the founder of the Bechtel Corporation, the 2nd largest construction company in the United States as of 2022.
Riley Peart Bechtel CBE is an American billionaire heir and businessman. He was the chairman of the Bechtel Corporation until April 2017. As of July 2021, his estimated net worth is US$2.7 billion.
William Randolph Hearst III is an American heir, businessman, and philanthropist.
George Randolph Hearst Jr. was an American businessman who served as the chairman of the board of the Hearst Corporation from 1996 through to his death in 2012, succeeding his uncle Randolph Apperson Hearst. He was a director at the company for over forty years.
The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California, and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of journalists, artists, and musicians, it soon began to accept businessmen and entrepreneurs as permanent members, as well as offering temporary membership to university presidents and military commanders who were serving in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, the club has a membership of many local and global leaders, ranging from artists and musicians to businessmen. Membership is restricted to men only.
Mark Vincent Hurd was an American technology executive who served as Co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors of Oracle Corporation. He had previously served as chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Hewlett-Packard, before his forced resignation in 2010. He was also on the board of directors of Globality and was a member of the Technology CEO Council and board of directors of News Corporation until 2010.
The Family is a private club in San Francisco, California, formed in 1902 by newspapermen who in protest, left the Bohemian Club due to censorship. The club maintains a clubhouse in San Francisco, as well as rural property 35 miles to the south in Woodside. The Family is an exclusive, invitation-only, all-male club where the new members are "Babies", regular members are "Children" and the club president is the "Father".
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components, as well as software and related services to consumers, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors. The company was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939, and initially produced a line of electronic test and measurement equipment. The HP Garage at 367 Addison Avenue is now designated an official California Historical Landmark, and is marked with a plaque calling it the "Birthplace of 'Silicon Valley'".
Wyntoon is a private estate in rural Siskiyou County, California, owned by the Hearst Corporation. Architects Willis Polk, Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan all designed structures for Wyntoon, beginning in 1899.
The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C. It holds meetings several times a year for high-level policy discussions.
The Links is a private club in New York City. It is located at 36 East 62nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Charles B. Macdonald, a golf champion and founder of the United States Golf Association, started the Links in 1917 as a place where powerful members of the golf world could keep the true spirit of the game alive.
Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highest-income neighborhoods in the United States, as well as one of the most desirable and expensive real estate markets in the country. Prior to Covid-19, it was the most expensive real estate market per metre squared, narrowly beating Monte Carlo, although it has since fallen heavily. It was the only place in the United States so far where market price per square metre exceeded the average yearly salary in the country.
Richard Philip Godwin also known as Dick, was born in Clifton, New Jersey, but raised in New Britain, Connecticut. Served in the United States Navy during WWII, enlisted July 1, 1943, and discharged June 21, 1946. Received a bachelor's degree in Engineering from Yale in 1945. He worked at New Britain Machine Company in grade school and went on to become chief metallurgist and machine tool designer. He worked for the Atomic Energy Commission and was a Nuclear Engineer and Project Director for the NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered merchant vessel. In 1961, Richard started his career at Bechtel, where he would serve in many positions. He was elected vice president of Bechtel in 1971 and director in 1976. Godwin left Bechtel in 1986 serve as the first Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at The Pentagon. In 1988, he resigned unsatisfied with what he was capable of doing. In the 90’s he dabbled in Broadway, producing two successful musicals “Crazy For You” (1992) and “Kiss Me, Kate” (1999). He opened a Vineyard in Northern California where he retired producing award-winning ‘Godwin’ wine.