As you refully pick your venue for this year's Pri celebratns, a mute to remember some foundatnal SF gay bars.
Contents:
- 5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED
- SAN FRANCIS GAY MEN’S CHOS: “WE’RE COMG FOR YOUR CHILDREN”
- SF GAY HISTORY
- JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
- REPORT: WARRRS EXPECTED TO SHOW TERT RUDY GAY
5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED
* renegade sf gay *
”SFist has wonred for the better part of ten years, when did Pri beme a party for straight teens, rather than the gay rights prott started as? "The People’s March and Rally follows the route of San Francis’s first Gay Liberatn March 1970, which was the one-year anniversary of Stonewall. This renega march follows the route of San Francis's first Gay Liberatn March 1970 and aims to honor the spir of the origal Pri movement.
SAN FRANCIS GAY MEN’S CHOS: “WE’RE COMG FOR YOUR CHILDREN”
Jacksonville Jaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen has e out as gay. His announcement is a first for a male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league. * renegade sf gay *
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. Was, on a nightly basis, awash wh gay men lookg to party.
SF GAY HISTORY
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. 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.
JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
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. 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.
REPORT: WARRRS EXPECTED TO SHOW TERT RUDY GAY
” 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. 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. 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.