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In any city one can find historic buildings that if their walls could speak would tell wonderful and entertaining tales of the people, neighborhood, and building itself as they passed through the years. Many such buildings exist on the San Francisco peninsula that is so rich with a lively history of its own. One of those buildings can be found safely nestled in the hills overlooking the bay on Belmont Avenue in the town of Belmont, California. This historically intriguing building was built in 1915 as part of the Japanese Exhibit of the year-long Panama Pacific International Exposition commemorating the opening of the Panama Canal. Though there were hundreds of exhibit buildings constructed and sponsored by the world's industrialized nations and leading companies, only two remain in use today. One is the Palace of Fine Arts that is still in use in San Francisco and the other is the Japanese Tea House, now home to the Van's Restaurant in San Mateo. The Tea House was purchased and moved by barge in 1915 to Belmont to serve as a private residence before being moved once again by horses and mules in 1921 to its current location. During Prohibition the house was converted into a speakeasy, serving bootlegged whiskey and rumored to be a place of gambling and prostitution. After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, it became a legal saloon and then an Italian restaurant in 1945. Today this "Restaurant on the Hill," with its magnificent panoramic bay views, still has the original wallpaper that was hung in 1915 in the oldest bar on the peninsula. It features photographs of the through the years building and other well-loved San Francisco landmarks for a delightful taste of history.
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