Did you know that an Italian castle clings to Telegraph Hill? And, this one was created and owned by Italian immigrant Julius’ Roz and designed by Italian architect Louis Mastropasqua.
If you walk up to 302 Greenwich Street where it meets up with Montgomery Street, there clings a castle, called Julius’ Castle. Rarely does one find a castle clinging to a hill in the center of an urban area.
At one time, the Castle was the residence of a beloved San Franciscan by the name of Julius Roz. A colorful local character in North Beach, Roz was born in Turin, Italy around 1868, arriving in San Francisco in 1902. Employed as a waiter, he later managed several eateries, including the Dante Restaurant at 536 Broadway.
It began with building permit #114873, dated March 20, 1923. Upon the site originally stood Michael Crowley’s grocery store from 1886. Food service at the Castle began in 1923, making it among the oldest San Francisco restaurants at their original location with their original name.
Roz himself lived in the apartment above the restaurant with his wife, daughter and two dogs, from which he was inseparable. He was all things to the restaurant: buyer, chef and maître d’hotel.
Elmer Gavello, of Lucca’s restaurant, is quoted as saying:
“I’ll never forget him driving down Union Street in North Beach in a yellow Chrysler Imperial convertible…He always had the convertible’s top down and two beautiful collie dogs in the rumble seat, which had its own windshield and side windows to keep the wind off the dogs…
What a magnificent sight!”
The architect of this historical gem was Louis Mastropasqua. Born in Brescia, Italy in 1870, Louis attended public schools and the University of Naples, graduating in 1899 from the Italian Royal Polytechnic School, specializing in civil engineering and architecture. After studying architecture and art in Japan, China and Africa, Louis arrived in San Francisco in 1902. He spoke no English but quickly learned and established himself as an architect of some repute in the Italian community, especially after the building boom following the 1906 earthquake and fire. One of Mastropasqua’s first designs was the Nunziato pasta factory at 415 Broadway.
When Julius Roz died in 1943, the property passed through several owners, though it has always retained its name. A popular celebrity hangout for local politicians, Table 34 was the mayor’s table. The list of dignitaries, celebrities, loyal patrons is long: Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Ginger Rogers, Herbert Hoover, James Roosevelt, Herb Caen, Melvin Belli, and Mount Everest climber Sir Edmund Hillary.
A quote from the booklet, Bohemian Eats of San Francisco (1925) by Jack L. and Hazel Blair Dodd:
“Many Italian eateries display their national colors of red, green, and white. Here you can eat them in the form of red, green, and white tagliarini. As you arrive, and during your meal, Sandy will greet you with a smile and tail wag as Sandy is a collie dog. He will ask to play with you. Sandy has played with such celebrities as Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney, and Douglas Fairbanks. Lunch from 12 to 2, $1.50 – Dinner from 6 to 9, $2.00”.
Twentieth Century Fox used the front of Julius’ Castle in the film House on Telegraph Hill. Changes to the structure were made so that it would look like the entrance to a stately home. These alterations to the exteriors were created by building a fake façade around the castle.
Julius’ Castle is an officially designated San Francisco landmark, number 121, designated as such on October 5, 1980. After failed attempts to maintain the structure as a restaurant, it closed its doors in 2009. Websites offered accounts of the property’s status: “18 months after being shuttered, still no signs of life at Julius’ Castle, and the landmark restaurant is starting to break down: exterior shingles are chipping; cobwebs encase the sculptured grape vines wrapping the entry’s outer balusters…”
There is good news! In 2012 Julius’ Castle was purchased by North Beach resident and attorney, Paul Scott. Paul has assured me that restoration is under way and that he plans on reopening our beloved landmark in the next year or so.
I was so relieved to hear this news. I want to walk around 302 Greenwich again and imagine two frisky collies running nearby, with the delicious aroma of Italian sauce mixing in nicely with cool bay breezes.
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