Visiting the Cirque Room for the Holidays

The Cirque Room THEN

The Cirque Room 
December 2019

I had the pleasure of visiting the Cirque Room at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco this past December. The room was reopened as a cocktail lounge for the holiday season, and it was exciting to see the space being used once again for its intended purpose! Everyone was enjoying the festive and elegant scene. Esther Bruton's stunning, gold leaf circus murals surround you from all sides; they are a huge part of the experience. It still thrills me that these murals have survived for the past eighty-five years and have been gracing the walls of this lounge since the repeal of Prohibition! I hope the Fairmont will continue to honor this beautiful and historic space by reopening it more frequently for the public to enjoy.

I also highly recommend a visit to the Tonga Room in the basement of the Fairmont. If you go there, check out the historic display in the adjoining hallway. That's where I found the above photo of the Cirque Room.  I also saw these great items:

Esther Bruton posing in front of her murals in the Cirque Room, ca. 1935

Cirque Room menu

Esther had a drink named after her; it was called the "Ecky" (her nickname), but I don't see it on the menu. In those days, you could get a cocktail for 40 cents and lobster tail for $1.50!