The past is present here
San Francisco is constantly reinventing itself. Whether it’s the rush of gold, gastronomy, or technology, the city is always reaching toward its next future. Yet amid the current buzz of young programmers and project managers, of computer gurus and web start-ups, you’ll also find contradictions, like the timeworn Slovenian Hall, standing like a proud old man who refuses to surrender his position, quietly reminding us that old does not mean lifeless.
Sitting innocuously at the intersection of Mariposa and Vermont Street on Potrero Hill, Slovenian Hall represents one of the smallest and most obscure countries in Europe, located between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea.
Info
Address 2101 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA, 94107, www.slovenianhall.com, +1 415.864.9629 | Public Transport Bus: 19 (De Haro St & Mariposa St stop) | Tip The stretch of 18th Street along the top of Potrero Hill offers a quaint "old town" atmosphere with a nice selection of pleasant cafes and restaurants.
The two-story white building has a view of downtown with the Design District in the foreground. This was once a hardscrabble area of the city where Slovenian immigrants settled after the earthquake in 1906. They made their way to San Francisco to work in the local iron foundries and shipbuilding yards of Pier 70. They built homes on Potrero Hill and called their community Kranjski Hrib. After World War I, they converted an empty PG&E substation into a “Slovenski Dom,” where the elders retold stories from the old country, and where families came to hear the Polka Jets Orchestra on their accordions and bask in the scents and tastes of a Slovenian delicatessen.
These days the building is often rented out. It’s a popular locale for a modest wedding reception or the anniversary of a small company. Beyond the heavy front door is a hall with a massive bar, behind which is nostalgic painted scenery of the wine country’s rolling hills. Upstairs you’ll find a lodge and a library with a collection of Slovenian books. There’s a kitchen for catering, and a spacious room with a stage, where once in a while you can join the local Slovenien polka dancers moving to the sounds of an accordion, where it seems that time has stopped and the past is present.
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