mechanicsinstitutebuilding

Old Poodle Dog Restaurant on Post Street, San Francisco, 1957

from San Francisco Public Library

• Dave R said:

  Do you think that some customer tried to pull a 'runner' ?

• San Francisco Public Library said:

  Here's the full story from the San Francisco News - on the backside of the photograph: "Bandit trap is set at Post st. entrance of Old Poodle Dog Restaurant as police, armed with shotguns and tear gas, await gunmen who held up cafe. But the four robbers escaped through a skylight with $160. In hasty flight, they left behind $920 taken from cash register and safe."
  Newscopy: "A quiet Sunday evening at a famous San Francisco restaurant turned into a tense 30 minutes of terror for 12 persons last night. Four gunmen kept the 12 hostages in the Old Poodle Dog for more than half an hour as police massed outside afraid to enter because of fear the gunmen might harm their prisoners. Among the dozen persons terrorized by the gun-waving holdupmen was the wife of Federal Judge George B. Harris. Others held were the owner and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Lalanne; Mrs. Harris's companion, Mrs. Jessie Guidotti; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Heintz and their children, Robert, 10, and Patricia, 7, 2275 Broadway; two waiters, Robert deMontezuma of 744 North Point and Hollis Milner of 407 Broadway; the matre de, Tony Forni; and a dishwasher, Amy Evans of 450 Victory st. A third waiter, Gill Hodges, glimpsed the four gunmen as they entered, and darted to the freight elevator in the basement and was lifted to street level where he hailed cabbie Michael Sussman, of 2623 44th ave., who radioed police. Hodges was helped in his escape by Forni, who, after pushing the button returning the elevator to the basement, was confronted by one gunman. 'What did you do, let someone get away?' the bandit demanded, drawing his finger tight on the trigger of his pistol. But another gunman brished the gun away from the trembling Forni, and said, 'Don't.' 'I think the first man meant to kill me,' Forni said. 'I just prayed and prayed,' Mrs. Harris said as police freed them from a basement storage room. 'We could hear the police over the loud speaker,' Lalanne related. 'And the gunmen became more and more frightened and nervous.' 'Is there a back way out,' one of the men snarled, poking his gun menacingly toward Lelanne. 'There's no backdoor. There's only the front,' the restauranteur replied. 'There's got to be,' the gunman gasped. 'Well, there's that,' Lelanne shot back sarcastically, pointing to a narrow skylight in a small recess of the high-ceilinged kitchen. 'We've got to try it,' another robber yelled as police loudspeakers ordered them to come out with their hands up. One by one, the four, including one described as short and well over 200 pounds, heaved themselves through the skylight. Inside, the 12 waited silently for rescue. After the first terror at seeing men brandish 'real guns,' the two Heintz children quietly obeyed their parents and crouched on the floor to escape any gunfire. Robert said he was 'kinda scared' at first. Waiters and customers were herded, arms raised, to the pantry and stood against a wall while Lelanne was forced to open the cash drawer. 'They seemed like real professionals,' Mrs. Harris commented. 'They seemed to have it all well planned, except in the end when they got all gummed up.' Lalanne said he had closed the restaurant and was waiting for late diners to finish when the four men marched in."

• Dave R said:

  San Francisco Public Library Thanks. I really didn't know what had happened. It could probably happen again, only the amount of money would have changed.