Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe latest example of how San Francisco is increasingly geared for the rich (NYT)
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/fashion/San-Francisco-club-Battery-Michael-Birch-Xochi-Birch.htmlAt a Bay Area Club, Exclusivity Is Tested
With Their Club the Battery, Michael Birch and Xochi Birch Alter a San Francisco Scene
By SHEILA MARIKARJAN
Once a marble-cutting factory in the citys Jackson Square neighborhood, the century-old building at 717 Battery Street now houses an assortment of wall-mounted animal heads, a wine cellar covered with Napa Valley corks, a 20-person hot tub, a conference room with reverse painted glass panels, and women in sheath dresses who check members in on iPads. It is a 58,000-square-foot, five-bar, five-story house of mirth.
Though members-only clubs are not new in this city, the Battery has provoked some ire. The Gawker-run blog Valleywag called it a private clubhouse that apes so much thats lame and gauche about Manhattan. It has also been held up as a symbol of the rapidly gentrifying city, where a corporate bus to Googles Mountain View headquarters was blocked recently by protesters upset at how tech wealth is driving up housing prices and fundamentally changing the way people live.
A blogger for The New Yorker neatly summed it up this way: the Batterys existence reflects the bigger issue at hand: San Francisco itself is turning into a private, exclusive club.
Opened last November, the club was founded by Michael Birch, 43, and his wife, Xochi, who turned 42 on Saturday. The couple earned their tech stripes with their previous start-up, the social networking site Bebo, which they sold in 2008 to AOL for $850 million. (Mr. Birch bought it back last year for $1 million.) They were inspired by the private clubs of London, where they met, and wanted to recreate that sense of propriety in their new hometown.
Xochi and Michael Birch, a tech start-up team, in the Battery, the private social club they founded in San Francisco.
The library in the club, where membership is $2,400 a year. In a gentrifying city, it has ushered in a new type of night life.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
8 replies, 3242 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The latest example of how San Francisco is increasingly geared for the rich (NYT) (Original Post)
jsr
Jan 2014
OP
San Francisco was lost to the crackheads and nouveau riche douchebags decades ago
Sen. Walter Sobchak
Jan 2014
#8
quinnox
(20,600 posts)1. Ugh, talk about bad taste
"Monstrosity" comes to mind when looking at the design and colors of that room.
Lucky Luciano
(11,267 posts)2. It was designed by techie nerds! nt
loli phabay
(5,580 posts)4. yup, looking at their clothes its definetly their style, kinda hideous.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)5. Evidently they have a secret exit behind the bookcase
The chandelier is a real winner too.
loli phabay
(5,580 posts)3. got no problem with private clubs, got a major problem with the decor.
would not say the price of membership is all that exclusive either.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)7. So obnoxious
n/t
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)8. San Francisco was lost to the crackheads and nouveau riche douchebags decades ago
Shrug.