Bizarre and authentic Condor
Club/Carol Doda promotional postcard. Couresty: Sharpeworld
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The Condor
Club, now the Condor Sports Bar, has the distinction of being the first
topless dance bar in the U.S. On June 16, 1964, Condor waitress Carol Doda
danced atop a white baby grand piano in a topless bathing suit, then a
controversial creation by designer Rudi Gernreich. Many area bars and clubs
immediately went topless. As the booby bar craze took off, Doda underwent
breast enlargement surgery to increase her bust size from 34 to 44
inches, thus insuring her status as the biggest star on Broadway in North
Beach. She went on to appear in films and as a TV hostess, rock singer,
pinup queen, and entrepreneur. Doda is the proprietor of Carol Doda's Champagne
and Lace Lingerie Boutique at 1850 Union Street. Doda retired from the
Condor in 1986, three years after the club had earned another spot on San
Francisco's wall of infamy. After closing one night in November, 1983,
Condor dancer Theresa Hill and bouncer Jimmy Ferrozzo decided to "make
love" atop the piano. When a hydraulic system
that raised and lowered the piano for performances was accidentally activated,
the couple became pinned to the ceiling. Ferrozzo was crushed to death
while Hill lay trapped beneath him until the pair was discovered by a janitor
several hours later.
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