In a large fishbowl behind the bar at Bimbo’s 365 Club, it looks as if a small naked woman is swimming with the goldfish. This “girl in the fishbowl” has been part of the nightclub since it opened in 1931 at 365 Market Street. In 1951, Bimbo’s relocated to North Beach. Dolphina, as she is known, still lures patrons to the bar.
Local Intelligence
Girl in a Fishbowl
Sarah Rice for The Bay Citizen
Party guests watch Dolphina (Celeste Knickerbocker) behind the main bar at Bimbo's 365 Club.
By LOUISE RAFKIN
Published: December 31, 2011
A nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization providing local coverage of the San Francisco Bay Area for The New York Times. To join the conversation about this article, go to baycitizen.org.
IT’S AN ILLUSION
A catacomb of tunnels in the bowels of the club leads to a small room containing a rotating platform on which the live “mermaid” reclines, naked. A periscope with angled mirrors projects her image up into the fishbowl where it appears that a tiny mermaid, about six inches long, is floating in an underwater grotto.
THE ORIGINAL BIMBO
Agostino Giuntoli, the original Bimbo, emigrated from Tuscany in 1922. (In Italian, Bimbo is short for bambino, or little boy.) The club is still run by Mr. Giuntoli’s family. Michael Cerchiai, 51, his grandson, remembers when Smokey Robinson played at his 7th-birthday party. He also recalls being mesmerized by Dolphina.
SWIMMING WITH FISHES
The first club, which opened during the Depression and Prohibition, had a one-way mirror on the front door to screen out police officers who were searching for illegal alcohol. The first women in the fishbowl were burlesque dancers; one was called Tempest Storm. A mermaid appeared every night until 1969. Now Dolphina performs only on special occasions.
A COLORFUL CAREER
For 25 years Donna Powers worked the fishbowl — from 1969 to New Year’s Eve 1994. In 1991, she ran for City Council in Richmond and won. She held both jobs for a while, although some citizens tried to oust her for moonlighting naked. The movement backfired, and she served on the Council for eight years.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Chris Isaak, the pompadoured singer whose television series for Showtime was set in Bimbo’s, appeared in the fishbowl — wearing boxers — on his 40th birthday. In the history of the fishbowl, there was only one other “merman.”
ON THE JOB
One of several current Dolphinas is Celeste Knickerbocker, 37. She earns $100 a shift, working 10 minutes on, 20 off for four hours. Like her predecessors, she was told to keep her knees together and feign swimming, slowly.
