"COCHRAN'S"
San Francisco in the 50's and to this day. (Now called Hollywood Billiards)
It was located on Market St. in the heart of downtown San Francisco. To the South of Market was skid row from 3rd to 9th st. with all the drunks, homeless, down and outs and mixed in with the longshoremen seamen who sailed in the merchant marine. On the north side was the Tenderloin, known as pimp row, drug alley and every rip off you could think of. The ironic part was the real exit was right across from the Golden Gate theatre where major movies and plays came and went along with the upper class patrons. They came in limos or cabs and they never parked and walked by Cochran's. Well most of them.
Cochran's had 2 entrances both of which required climbing a long set of stairs which led into a large supposedly at the time legant room with old time Brunswick tables of which they are still there. It was dark in the room but pretty lit by the cafe bar where you could order food from the oriental chef and bartender. There was constant action in this room either on the tables or the open snooker game or open golf game. Ronnie Allen and Richie Florence came up from L.A. all the time to hustle. Sometimes winning, other times not. S.F. had some pretty good players them themselves incliding Cochran Sr. and Jr. You could find anything you wanted there incliding drugs, sex, (man or woman,) stolen merchandise, dice games, poker, tossing coins and pinballs that paid off. It was constant action 24 hours a day.
The first day I walked in there my buddy, One Eye Hank Hurst got in a game with Bucktooth, stiff him and Bucktooth chased him around the room throwing balls at him. I laughed my ass off and from that day on it was a daily pilgramage. Not that I was into all that but I loved the action and the people who were sincere. This place was dangerous, you had to mind your p's and q's and be careful who you got into it with.
I really do not think there was a more seedier place anywhere. The previous poster mentioned Palalce Billiards. Although in the same area it was tame compared to Cochrans in its day. Place had 2 locations. First one was at 4th and Ellis behind the Woolthworth's until they lost their lease then they moved to Market St. They survived cause Cochrans was so bad they kept closing and reopening. Tony Annigonni was a parnter at one time. The place is still seedy. They tried to open under new owners a few months ago and the first thing is they got closed because of a killing outside and they were unlicensed. As of now I do now know if they reopened.
The place has since been remodeled though. In the old days all the windows were covered, now they are open and they built a large beautiful bar in the center that is 4 sided. The front door was blocked up the last time I was there so entering at night from the back is still scary. I knew of a lot of winners that got mugged leaving from the back entrance over the years. A lot of people had body guards it was so bad. Desperate people in that area did desperate things. In the old days you left from the rear cause the front led to Market St. and you would have to put up woth a the homosexuals lurking in all the doorways trying to pick up anybody walking by. It was a sad area and still is. There is no way this not the seediest in the Nation.
