Before there was a city, there was Stark’s

The next time the city of Newport Beach feels a compulsion to

install one of those bronze historical markers, I suggest it give

serious consideration to Stark’s Saloon. Given the personality of our

town, historical recognition of a pioneer saloon would not seem

inappropriate.

It would be at least as appropriate as the plaque honoring Glenn

Martin’s hydroplane flight from Balboa Bay to Avalon and back in

1912. While that was a memorable event, to me the most newsworthy

aspect of Martin’s feat was the speech made by the German mayor of

Santa Ana, who observed that he had “flown der vater offer chust like

a lion.”

Henry Stark opened his saloon in 1902 on that funny little

half-block street in Newport called 21st Place. The site was later

occupied by Sid’s Blue Beet.

It may seem odd that a saloon was opened in 1902, when the city

was not even incorporated until 1906. However, it must be remembered

that McFadden’s Wharf was erected in 1899, and by 1902, Newport was

practically a bustling metropolis, complete with a commercial wharf

and a railway to Santa Ana, not to mention the beginnings of a

fishing fleet. Given the many thirsty men (women were not allowed in

saloons), it is not surprising that Newport had a saloon.

During Prohibition, Stark’s lost its identity as a saloon.

Nevertheless, the place remained open as a cafe, and I am told that

Henry Stark treated Prohibition with the same lofty disdain as did

Balboa with its justly famous Drugless Drugstore, where you couldn’t

buy as much as an aspirin tablet, but straight alcohol was for sale

across the counter at two-bits an ounce.

However, before, during and after Prohibition, Stark’s boasted

several items of historical interest. The first was the longest

running poker game in Newport Beach or probably anywhere else.

Separated from the bar by a thin wall, that poker game went on for 24

hours at a stretch.

When the bar closed at 2 a.m., to re-open at 6 a.m., the poker

players just closed the door between the bar and the room housing the

poker game and kept playing. The game started shortly after Henry

Stark opened the place and ran until the Stark family sold it to Sid

Soffer in 1960. That’s a long time for any game to run.

Also of historical interest was Stark’s price list. For 15 cents

you could get a straight shot with either a beer, Coke or ginger ale

chaser. Obviously, for a buck you could buy drinks for the house. An

added bonus was that the bartender bought every third drink. At least

he did when Al Horvath, Bert Oquist or Shorty Charle were the

bartenders. It’s hard to find drinks in that price range today.

Another item that deserves mention in any in-depth historical

discussion was the old gal they called Dollar Dolly, an older woman

who trolled for customers at Stark’s. I have no idea how old Dolly

was, but she was no spring chicken. She had shiny, dyed black hair

and pancake makeup so thick it looked like it was made from real

pancake dough. Two red-rimmed eyes peered out at the world from about

a pound of mascara. I don’t know how she ever got a customer.

I won’t go so far as to suggest that there should be a bronze

plaque honoring Dollar Dolly as a historical monument, but I

certainly think Stark’s deserves some recognition.

* ROBERT GARDNER is a Corona del Mar resident and a former judge.

His column runs Tuesdays.