Through the Jazz Age Westin St. Francis

woodrow wilson in 1919

after re-opening, st. francis hosted dozens of celebrities came san francisco see panama–pacific international exposition (ppie) of 1915, ranging helen keller, three-time presidential candidate , orator william jennings bryan, came san francisco speak against american involvement in first world war, , former baseball player , evangelist billy sunday, came san francisco denounce sin , theory of evolution. exterior of hotel appeared in keystone studios newsreel/documentary two-reeler, mabel , fatty viewing world s fair @ san francisco, followed studio s biggest stars, mabel normand , roscoe arbuckle, toured city , ppie. former president theodore roosevelt stayed @ hotel in july 1915, (about midway through nine-month-long ppie) , used occasion denounce bitter enemy, president woodrow wilson, , call american entry world war i.

in september 1919, president woodrow wilson stayed @ st. francis toured country part of unsuccessful effort win support american entry league of nations. 1920 democratic national convention held in san francisco, , several presidential candidates stayed @ st. francis, including visit william jennings bryan.

mabel normand

during 1920s, st. francis became fashionable place stay celebrities , film actors coming hollywood. st. francis guests included silent film stars charlie chaplin, douglas fairbanks, mary pickford, cowboy star tom mix, mabel normand, fatty arbuckle, , directors d.w. griffith , cecil b. demille.other guests included novelist sinclair lewis, first american win nobel prize literature, circus impresarios ringling brothers, dancer isadora duncan, songwriter george m. cohan, , duke kahanamoku, champion swimmer of world, popularized sport of surfing.

one of appeals of st. francis jazz orchestra, led young musician named art hickman. band, in 1914 included bert kelly, played in rose room of hotel, before going on greater fame @ new york biltmore hotel , roof garden of new amsterdam theatre. during time @ st. francis, helped popularize such musicians paul whiteman , ferde grofe who, after leaving st. francis orchestra, went on compose grand canyon suite.

part of fame of st. francis because of legendary chef, victor hirtzler. hirtzler learned cook in strasbourg, france, , cooked royal courts across europe. according hirtzler, had created dish king carlos of portugal, called la mousse faisan lucullus, mousse of bavarian pheasant s breast , woodcock flavored truffles, sauce of cognac, madeira , champagne. dish expensive, , king ate frequently, bankrupted portugal twice , assassinated in 1908, followed downfall of portuguese monarchy in 1910. victor moved new york, became chef of waldorf hotel, , persuaded manager of st. francis, james woods, move san francisco.

charles evans hughes

in 1916, hirtzler again cooked dish had political consequences. crocker family fervent republicans, , hosted dinner @ hotel charles evans hughes, republican candidate president of united states, locked in close race incumbent woodrow wilson. twenty minutes before banquet began, waiters, members of culinary workers union, went on strike. hughes wondered if banquet should canceled, hirtzler insisted upon going ahead, , served meal himself. when union learned hughes had crossed picket line , eaten dinner, distributed thousands of leaflets denouncing him anti-union. on election night, hughes went bed believing had won election. next morning awoke , learned had lost california 3,673 votes, , losing california had lost election wilson. margin of defeat less turnout of union voters in san francisco. saving dinner, hirtzler had lost election hughes.