The building that once housed historic San Francisco punk venue Mabuhay Gardens is about to change hands, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)
Often referred to as “The Fab Mab,” the 12,000-square-foot club at 435 Broadway in North Beach brought the DIY genre to a global audience and became a magnet for bands that were about to hit the big time in the late 1970s and 1980s, from the Dead Kennedys to the Avengers to Devo. Other touring acts that were already at the forefront of the scene, including Blondie, the Ramones, the Go-Go’s and Iggy Pop, also made appearances there.
In the mid-’70s, the space was a Filipino supper club owned by Ness Aquino, who was approached by promoter Jerry Paulsen to start putting on shows there every Monday, its slowest night of the week. The Nuns and the Contractions were among the first groups to play there, and with the assistance of notoriously abrasive emcee and “Pope of Punk” Dirk Dirksen, the popularity of the venue exploded. It hosted 3,600 concerts until its closure in 1987, according to a 2022 episode of the Kitchen Sisters podcast, “From Pinoy to Punk — The Rise of the Mabuhay Gardens.”
“To play, you need a place — be it where you live, the street, a venue. For unrestricted play, you need an unrestricted playground. Dirk Dirksen envisioned The Fab Mab just as such a playground,” the late San Francisco filmmaker Mindaugis Bagdon, who documented the scene for decades, told the podcast. “Without him and The Mab, there might not have been the great punk scene in the late 1970s in San Francisco.”
The auction for the property is set to begin June 6, with a starting bid of $2.15 million, according to a listing from Sotheby’s International.
Belinda Carlisle and Margot Olavarria of the Go- Go’s perform live at the Mabuhay Gardens Nightclub in 1978 in San Francisco.
Richard McCaffrey/Getty ImagesConstructed in 1919, the building was originally an Italian men’s club called Garibaldi Hall. Following the years of the Mab, the space was also home to the On Broadway Theater, the Velvet Lounge and Fame. Records show it was listed for $9.75 million in 2019.
The listing for the space is curiously ambiguous. “435 Broadway Blvd is a premier, multi-venue event space on the coast of San Francisco, with successful event management for 30+ years,” it reads. “The eclectic and versatile property is best known for its party, night club and live music venues while catering to many other event types.”
Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys on the stage’s floor during a concert at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco on Sept. 2, 1978.
Ruby Ray/Getty ImagesJello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys was quick to spot the ad and share some of its history on Facebook. “Attention rich people!” he wrote. “This building up for sale is the former home of both Mabuhay Gardens downstairs and the On Broadway upstairs! In other words, MAXIMUM PUNK HISTORY and a lot more!! The Mab was the CBGB’s of the whole west coast, and it ain’t even been torn down!”