It’s a story as old as civilization itself: cool local spots getting turned into condos.
San Francisco dwellers have been hearing about it for a while now – the legendary Tonga Room tiki bar (complete with a fake thunderstorm every 45 minutes during happy hour) will disappear in January. In its place, a giant, repulsive tower full of condominiums.
What a bore. And so unnecessary. Even though the Tonga Room was recently labeled “historic” and lots of SF’ers are unhappy about it, that’s not enough to actually stop construction. The totem poles, teak sculptures and real pieces of an old sailing vessel that once docked in San Francisco Bay will be stored rather than destroyed, but whether or not they’ll ever find a new home is uncertain – and probably won’t be as cool as the original spot.
