The small wooden saloon at the foot of Webster Street in Jack London Square is easy to walk past, yet it may be the most storied bar in Oakland. Wikipedia says the building dates to 1880 and was built from the remains of an old whaling ship. It first served as a bunkhouse for workers at nearby oyster beds. Johnny Heinold bought it in 1883 for $100 and turned it into a saloon. The saloon's own site puts its opening at June 1, 1884.
Why "First and Last Chance"
According to Wikipedia, the saloon stood near the ferry between Oakland and Alameda, where drinking was illegal at the time. That made it the first or last chance for a drink, and the same went for sailors shipping in and out of the Port of Oakland. The nickname eventually became the official name.
The floor, the clock and the gas lamps
The 1906 earthquake sank some of the pilings the building stands on, and the floor has sloped ever since. A clock in the corner stopped at 5:18, the moment of the quake. Wikipedia says Heinold's is the last commercial establishment in California still using its original gas lighting. The potbellied stove has been the only heat since 1889, and the walls and ceiling are covered with business cards, hats and signed bills. The bar notes that the COVID-19 shutdown from March 2020 to April 2021 was its first mandatory closure since April 18, 1906, when Oakland ordered every saloon in town to close.
Jack London's Rendezvous
A young Jack London studied at the saloon's tables. According to Wikipedia, at 17 he told Johnny Heinold he wanted to go to college, and Heinold lent him the tuition for UC Berkeley. London mentions the saloon 17 times in his autobiographical novel John Barleycorn. He also met Capt. Alexander McLean there, the model for Wolf Larsen in The Sea-Wolf. Heinold's was named a National Literary Landmark in 1998 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 1, 2000.
Visiting
The saloon is at 48 Webster St. Its posted hours are Monday 3 p.m. to about 9, Tuesday through Saturday noon to about 9, and Sunday 11 a.m. to about 9. The bar says "ish" means before midnight and sometime after the square empties out. It IDs every customer, so bring identification. There's also an outdoor patio facing the estuary. Nearby: Scott's Seafood at 50 and the USS Potomac.