Top of the Mark is a penthouse level bar located on the nineteenth floor of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill at California and Mason Streets in San Francisco , California . Located at the highest point of downtown San Francisco , on fog-free days the Top of the Mark has views of the financial district , Chinatown , North Beach , The San Francisco Bay , and of Grace Cathedral and Huntington Park . The Mark Hopkins Hotel was built by George D. Smith on the site of the old Mark Hopkins mansion , which had burned down following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . The hotel was dedicated in 1926 , and the penthouse suite was rented exclusively to Daniel C. Jackling , reputedly at per month , until he moved to his house in Woodside in 1936 . In 1939 , shortly after emerging from a 1933 bankruptcy , George Smith convinced the trustees of the Mark to spend to convert the 11-room penthouse on the hotel 's 19th floor into a glass-walled cocktail lounge , which became known as the Top of The Mark
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Top of the Mark