The Boarding House was a nightclub located at 960 Bush Street in San Francisco, California. Steve Martin's first three albums, Let's Get Small, A Wild and Crazy Guy, and Comedy Is Not Pretty were recorded there, in whole or in part. The club was also host to a multitude of musical acts, such as Patti Smith, Neil Young, Billy Joel, Bob Marley, The Tubes, Talking Heads, Old and in the Way, Randy Newman, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, Jim Croce and Tom Waits. This is also where cult favorites The Residents first played.
Previous to the 1906 earthquake, the address was an apartment building called The Cecil. After the earthquake and resulting fire, it was rebuilt as a theater and known by many names over the years, including the Kamokila; The Royal Hawaiian Theater; The Bush Street Music Hall; The Balalaika Music Hall, finally becoming The Boarding House in 1971. The building was torn down in July 1980 and replaced by condominiums. A club with the same name was opened by owner Dave Allen for a short time at 901 Columbus Ave in the city's North Beach district.