icon to add to your experience.
Things To Do San Francisco East Bay
Eli’s Mile High Club
Oakland
3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland CA
510.654-4549
Website
Dubbed as the “home of traditional music since 1968” Eli’s Mile High Club is reputedly the birthplace of West Coast blues. This small, basic club harks back to the years just after World War II, when Oakland gave birth to its version of that gritty, hurts-so-bad-I-think-I'm-gonna-die music. In a saga worthy of a blues tune, owner Eli was gunned down behind the bar by an ex-girlfriend in 1979. The club has changed hands a number of times since then, and in 2003 it was purchased by folks dedicated to maintaining the Eli's tradition. The pool table and patio are additional draws, and the photos and concert posters lining the red walls make this humble venue a veritable blues museum.
