other large cities. A report by the Public Dance Hall Committee of San Francisco Center of California Civic League of Women Voters states: In September, 1913, the Police Commissioner prohibited dancing in any cafe, restaurant, or saloon where liquor was sold. This resolution wiped out dancing on the [Barbary] Coast and resulted in the appearance of the so-called "closed" hall in the districts adjoining. There the girls were paid to dance with the men on a commission basis and salary. Patrons paid ten cent for each dance, lasting less than two minutes. About six hundred girls were employed in these 'closed' dance halls. The closed dance halls were the first version of latter-day taxi dance halls. They were called closed because most of the time the only women permitted in the club were the taxi dancers. The final blow, which ended the entertainment scene, came in 1921 when taxi dancing and its closed dance halls were forbidden by law. Prohibition also caused a complete absence of alcohol in 1920. In 1917, the brothels eventually closed due to the Red Light Abatement Act, but by that time all the excitement of Terrific Street had vanished. Pacific Street today Pacific Street, now Avenue, no longer has bars, dance halls, or entertainment clubs. As of the first decade of the 21st century, its narrow corridor is populated with offices, design firms, and law firms despite the fact that many of the original buildings from the Terrific Street era still remain. The old Hippodrome dance hall, also known as the Moulin Rouge at one time, now houses an art store, Artist & Craftsman Supply. One of the old secret tunnels from the Barbary Coast days can be seen in the basement of that art store. The two photos below show exactly the same three buildings, but at different points in time. From left to right, they are Spider Kelly's dance hall, the Hippodrome, and Purcell's So Different Café. Within the 2014 photograph Spider Kelly's former dance hall has brown brick, the Hippodrome's building has orange brick, and Purcell's So Different Café building has brown brick and is behind a tree. See also Barbary Coast 1906 earthquake Gold Rush of 1849 Jackson Square North Beach Jazz Blues Ragtime Taxi dance hall References Sources Boyd, Nan Alamilla (2013). "Homos Invade S.F.! San Francisco's history as a wide-open town" in Creating a Place for Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay,