THE 10 BEST San Francis Gay Clubs & Bars (Updated 2023)

Contents:

• THE BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS
• GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS
• THE 10 BEST SAN FRANCIS GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SAN FRANCIS
• 5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED
• 7 BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS
• THE STUD, SAN FRANCIS'S OLST GAY BAR, IS CLOSG S DOORS DUE TO THE RONAVIS PANMIC
• TOP 5 GAY CLUBS & BARS THE CASTRO (SAN FRANCIS)SEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS THE CASTRO
• BT GAY CLUBS SAN FRANCIS
• SAN FRANCIS GAY SNAS
• THE GAY TRAVELER’S GUI TO SAN FRANCIS
• BEHOLD: A MAP OF SAN FRANCIS'S LOST GAY BARS
• SF GAY SEX CLUB EROS REOPENS NEW LOTN

THE BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS

San Francis gay bars are a popular statn for not only the cy’s gay men, but for straight men and women terted havg a “gay old time”. The cy’s gay bars feature large, outdoor celebratns (not unlike a gay pri para) that attract people of all strip that wish to be entertaed by a group of eclectic and unique sgers and dancers.

GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS

While not exclive any sense, some gay bars are signated for only certa typ of patrons (i. But that tty-soundg nickname— was the first gay bar San Francis to have plate-glass wdows that let passersby see who’s si, and the patrons skew silver—is one the regulars willgly share.

) Whether ’s Cole Porter standards, a jazz night, or a te sg-along, this curtaed, Art De-accented bar is where tried-and-te Friends of Dorothy n be spac have been vanishg for a long time, but few subspeci are rarer than the neighborhood gay bar. A gay sports bar was practilly a ntradictn terms when Hi Tops opened the Castro nearly a ago, but no one should doubt the near-universal appeal of rn dogs and a pork-chop-on-a-stick. If you’ve hung out the Castro long enough, your jar has probably accumulated more than a few drk tokens om here, a gay bar?

Well, ’s neher and both: a majory Irish-owned, majory LGBTQ-owned venue named for a gay Irish humanarian. Sectn at a mic ftival, and a queer-iendly ambiance all nspire to make this Missn spot among the most hospable bars the Street has all but been annexed to the Mara, but once upon a time, there was a htler-filled gayborhood lled Polk Gulch—of which the Cch is the sole survivor.

THE 10 BEST SAN FRANCIS GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SAN FRANCIS

A rpeted dive narrow enough that you n touch the bar wh one hand and the oppose wall wh the other, ’s home to the Hot Boxxx Girls, a troupe of olr drag performers who, as well as the Tubteak Connectn, DJ B Statn John’s re-created dis and SF’s longt-nng gay party. Tripadvisor performs checks on historic venue, the first gay bar SF that had wdows so folks uld look om the street. Tripadvisor performs checks on TSan Francis, CA354 ntributnsThe Pilsner is a tried and te sual gay bar that offers iendly service.

5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED

As we s down this year to figure out where to dance the weekend away, let’s take a moment to remember the San Francis gay bars of yore — the foundatns on which our current venu were built, and the plac that went to battle wh the cy so future generatns wouldn’t have to. In s earlit days, the tavern garnered a reputatn for entertag naval men who were on leave and lookg for a good (and very gay!

— a hotbed of gay socializg.

7 BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS

Was, on a nightly basis, awash wh gay men lookg to party. The cisg and htlg that had been happeng the streets for at least a started movg si when the first gay bars — the College Inn and the Pirat’ Cave —arrived 1933 wh the end of prohibn.

THE STUD, SAN FRANCIS'S OLST GAY BAR, IS CLOSG S DOORS DUE TO THE RONAVIS PANMIC

Dpe beg a relative lateer to the downtown gay scene (which was nicknamed “the Meat Rack, ” cintally), the Silver Rail was a notor dive om day one.

In 1952, a man named Jimmie Taranto succsfully extorted money om the bar manager exchange for not reportg the rampant homosexual activy takg place the jot.

In the end, wasn’t legal scty that put an end to Fe-Be’s; was the toll of the AIDs epimic on San Francis’s gay muny. When Geist and Kissger first opened the bar, they hired artist Mike Caffee to make them a versn of Michaelangelo’s famo sculpture, transformed to a gay biker. Once scribed by Allen Gsberg as the “greatt gay bar Ameri, ” the Black Cat Café started life 1933 as a hangout for bohemians, jt doors away om where the Transameri Pyramid currently stands.

TOP 5 GAY CLUBS & BARS THE CASTRO (SAN FRANCIS)SEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS THE CASTRO

In the early ’40s, when the venue was taken over by Sol Stouman, the Black Cat began fearlsly embracg all thgs gay. Gsberg once mented: “It was totally open … Everybody went there, heterosexual and homosexual … All the gay screamg queens would e, the heterosexual gray flannel su typ, longshoremen. ” When Stouman had his liquor license fely revoked 1949 bee “persons of known homosexual tennci patronized said premis and ed said premis as a meetg place, ” Stouman fought back — all the way to California’s Supreme Court.

BT GAY CLUBS SAN FRANCIS

A number of people were arrted [at the Black Cat], some for vagrancy and some bee they ‘monstrated homosexual actns, ’ but there was no showg that any of those arrted were nvicted. There was no evince of any illegal or immoral nduct on the premis … The patronage of a public rtrant and bar by homosexuals … whout proof of the missn of illegal or immoral acts on the premis … is not sufficient to show a vlatn. If ever there was a gay bar that should have lived forever, ’s the Gangway, first found 1910.

SAN FRANCIS GAY SNAS

What was, until 2018, San Francis’s olst ntuoly survivg gay bar had ma through Prohibn, anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn and the AIDs crisis — an astonishg n that end unceremonly after a simple liquor license transfer. (The bar was equipped wh a history wall, historic gay ephemera and an entryway that paid tribute to 1969’s Friday of the Purple Hand prott.

THE GAY TRAVELER’S GUI TO SAN FRANCIS

Prented by GayCi. But the area n be harr to navigate for those who are not whe gay men.

The Harvey Milk-era of gay rights activism is no ls important — ’s jt that the LGBTQIA+ muni are vast and nta myriad ways to exprs and reprent sexualy and genr.

Growg up gay the Amerin South was not a pleasant experience, Miah Jefa says. In the South Bay, they go to the off-the-beaten-path gay bar Renegas. “Jolene’s is also a spot that is workg hard to -cis-gay-man the queer nightlife scene, ” Calamia says.

BEHOLD: A MAP OF SAN FRANCIS'S LOST GAY BARS

Below, check out our picks for the bt gay bars San an teractive Google Maps list of some of the bt gay bars San Francis. One of the last remag gay div the Tenrlo, Aunt Charlie's is home to potent cktails and legendary drag shows, like the Hot Boxxx Girls revue held every Friday and Saturday night.

SF GAY SEX CLUB EROS REOPENS NEW LOTN

Tw Peaks TavernThis Castro mastay was the first gay bar to sport floor-to-ceilg wdows that let patrons look out—and the world look .

San Francis's olst gay bar, The Stud, announced Wednday is closg s doors due to lack of revenue as a rult of the ronavis panmic. ”The killgs rekdled memori of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.

San Francis – home of the untry's first openly gay elected official (Harvey Milk), birthplace of the rabow flag, the first cy the Uned Stat to legalize gay marriage and host of the bt damn Pri para  the untry—remas a major LGBTQ+ epicenter. (They don't ll the 'gay pal of the world' for nothg. So whether you're here June or not, honor SF's storied gay history at the mms, bars and cultural landmarks.