13.- San Francisco and its Bay Area

13.1 FIRST BASQUE HOTELS IN TOWN
San Francisco also had a Basque district, where Euskara and Basque customs could be encountered. The first information on record regarding Basque hotels in San Francisco relates to the Aguirre Hotel, managed by Juan Miguel Aguirre in 1866. Basque pioneers came to California around 1850 and within a few years there were enough Basques in the area to establish several hotels. Records show that in the late 1880's there was the Hotel Vasco, that belonged to Juan Francisco Yparraguirre, born in Etxalar, as well as the Europa, the Des Alpes, the New Pyrenees, and Savart's.

13.2 LAST HOTELS
The old hotels disappeared in the 1906 earthquake, but soon a new concentration of Basque establishments arose in the Broadway area, which included hotels, restaurants, and pelota courts. In the 1990's, during a period in which traditional hotels were being closed and new restaurants were being opened, San Francisco lost the last ostatuak in the historic Basque district of Broadway, namely the Obrero, Basque, Pyrenees, and Des Alpes.

13.3 THE BASQUE CULTURAL CENTER
In San Francisco hotels and restaurants served as meeting points for members of the Basque community and were places where Basques of every class could sit around the same table. The Basque Cultural Center was built in 1982 in South San Francisco, mainly for dining and conversing, since there are three clubs today, namely the Basque Club, the Anaitasuna, and the Basque Cultural Center for formal assemblies and meetings, and for the organization of activities. Built specifically for the display of Basque culture, the Basque Cultural Center houses a library, assembly hall, restaurant, interior pelota court with stands, changing rooms, rooms for meetings and rehearsals, and spacious parking. Groups and activities within the Center include the "Zazpiak Bat Dancers," the Elgarrekin choir, the organization of bertsolari and pelota festivals, a klika, a txistulari group, Euskara classes, and the library. Other entities, such as the Basque Educational Organization, operate with a base in San Francisco and the BCC.

13.4 WITHIN THE BAY AREA
Old ostatuak and new Basque restaurants, such as the Basque Cultural Center in San Francisco, cater mainly to American clients for whom the sign "Basque restaurant" suggests good food in a pleasant environment at a reasonable price. Local Basque food has become so popular in recent decades that new Basque restaurants open every year. In the Bay Area alone there are five establishments offering Basque cuisine, some of which are located in tourist areas like San Rafael and Sausalito. In the mid 1990's the Marin-Sonoma Basque Association, the youngest club in the area, was formed north of the city.