Fort Mason in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

America’s First Irish Coffee

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 2, 2018

1. America's First Irish Coffee Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

America’s First Irish Coffee
was made here in 1952

It was inspirationally invented
at Shannon Airport by

Joe Sheridan

It was fortuitously introduced here by

Stan Delapane

It was nurtured to a national institution by

Jack Koeppler

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is November 10, 1952.

Location. 37° 48.395′ N, 122° 25.242′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Fort Mason. Marker is at the intersection of Beach Street and Hyde Street, on the left when traveling east on Beach Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2765 Hyde Street, San Francisco CA 94109, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Buena Vista Cafe (here, next to this marker); Friedel Klussman (within shouting distance of this marker); Barbary Coast Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Del Monte Square

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

(about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The South End Rowing Club (about 400 feet away); The Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club (about 500 feet away); Propellers from Klamath (about 500 feet away); Steam Donkey Engine (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

Also see . . .
1. Irish Coffee (Wikipedia). Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, brought Irish coffee to the United States after drinking it at Shannon Airport, when he worked with the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco to start serving it on November 10, 1952, and worked with the bar owners Jack Koeppler and George Freeberg to recreate the Irish method for floating the cream on top of the coffee, sampling the drink one night until he nearly passed out. The group also sought help from the city's then mayor, George Christopher, who owned a dairy and suggested that cream aged at least 48 hours would be more apt to float. Delaplane popularized the drink by mentioning it frequently in his travel column, which was widely read throughout America. In later years, after the Buena Vista
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 2, 2018

2. America's First Irish Coffee Marker - Wide View, looking east on Beach
had served, by its count, more than 30 million of the drinks, Delaplane and the owners grew tired of the drink. A friend commented that the problem with Irish coffee is that it ruins three good drinks: coffee, cream, and whiskey. (Submitted on April 4, 2018.)

2. Buena Vista Cafe- Where Irish Coffee came to America: By Stan Linhorst (YouTube, 4 min.). (Submitted on April 4, 2018.)

America's First Irish Coffee Marker - Wide View, looking north across Beach image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 2, 2018

3. America's First Irish Coffee Marker - Wide View, looking north across Beach

Irish Coffee image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 2, 2018

4. Irish Coffee

Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gailege) is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar (some recipes specify that brown sugar should be used), stirred, and topped with thick cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream. The original recipe explicitly uses cream that has not been whipped, although drinks made with whipped cream are often sold as "Irish coffee". The term "Irish coffee" is also sometimes used colloquially to refer to alcoholic coffee drinks in general. - Wikipedia

If this were Instagram, the lighting would be better and the drink untouched. But this is HMDB, where we go the extra mile to ensure historical veracity....

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 509 times since then and 84 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week November 10, 2019. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 4, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.