Forget dingy warehouses for deafening DJ-driven parties. The latest hotspot in San Francisco is a regal, 132-year-old bank.
The Hibernia, owned by locally based Dolmen Property Group led by Seamus Naughten, has been offering up its soaring Beaux Arts venue to big-name electronic music artists and club parties at 1 Jones Street, in Mid-Market, the San Francisco Standard reported.
While it still hosts traditional weddings, charity galas and corporate take-overs, the four-story bank is increasingly embracing immersive art, live performances and electronic dance music.
The Hibernia, which completed a $15 million renovation in 2015, hit a slump during the pandemic. But it now reflects Downtown’s change of identity, wanting to be known not just for tech events, but as a venue for art and music.
In the past two years, the bank has hosted dozens of local DJs and performers on its lower level. It also drew thongs to two major shows from electronic musicians Honey Dijon and Bonobo, who performed on the main floor under the Hibernia’s Tiffany stained-glass ceilings.
This year, the marble-walled venue with soaring ceilings will launch an EDM residency that includes 14 performances over six weeks.
Welcome to a luxe taste of old-school San Francisco, with plenty of bathrooms.
“We never thought that we’d be on this path, but the excitement is pretty crazy,” Terry Lim, chief revenue officer at The Hibernia, told the Standard. “Coming off the back of Covid, you have to think outside the box. And now we feel like we’re in the middle of it.”
The 42,000-square-foot Hibernia Bank Building, built in 1892 on a design by Albert Pissis, served as home to the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society until it moved out in 1985.
For a while, it served the San Francisco Police Department. When the cops pulled out, it sat vacant for years, its columns marred by graffiti. Dolmen bought the building in 2008 as a “long-term hold” for $3.9 million.
After a seven-year renovation, the landmark was renamed The Hibernia.
The venue has four floors, each with its own distinct vibe, from its brick-and-metal basement to a penthouse roofdeck strung with fairy lights, according to the Standard.
Guests can rent out one section or the entire building, from as few as about 100 people to 800 throughout the downstairs dance floor, or 2,000 for the entire building.
Ultimately, The Hibernia considers itself as a case study in how the city needs to focus on adaptability as a key to long-term survival.
“We’re in the neighborhood that gets bashed every day of the week and we’re still here and standing,” Lim told the Standard. “We’re bringing 2,000 people to an event in Mid-Market. This place is like an argument against the ‘doom loop.’”
— Dana Bartholomew
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