18 Bt Gay Bars San Francis Right Now

historic gay bars san francisco

The bars helped shape and harn San Francis's gay inty.

Contents:

5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED

* historic gay bars san francisco *

(Above: A scene om The Tool Box picted a Life magaze story lled "Homosexualy Ameri. ")We don't give gay bars the rpect they serve.

After several proment bars San Francis started shutterg -- victims of Manhunt and Grdr and time -- I started mappg a cy's worth of shuttered gay bars. Cheers, Dash (1908), 547 Pacific:San Francis may have had gay bars before the The Dash, but none were as notor.

Focch's (1936), 506 Broadway:The drag show at Focch's was more of a tourist draw than an hont-to-goodns gay club, but helped brg gay culture -- and drag culture -- to the mastream spotlight.

THE BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS

As you refully pick your venue for this year's Pri celebratns, a mute to remember some foundatnal SF gay bars. * historic gay bars san francisco *

)The Black Cat (1951), 710 Montgomery:"There's nothg wrong wh beg gay -- the crime is gettg ught!

I951, after two years of police harassment, owner Sol Stouman took the police to the California Supreme Court, and argued that a bar uld not be shut down jt bee gay men ngregated there. He prevailed, providg stenance to the growg homophile Handle Bar (1960), California and Hy:Until 1960, most gay bars were expected to pay brib to police officers for 'protectn' om raids. But 1960, the "gay-ola" sndal exposg such brib beme a media sensatn, and began a discsn about the rights of gays to equal protectns unr the Q (1962), Polk St.

:In rponse to police harassment, San Francis bar owners formed the Tavern Guild -- the first gay bs associatn the Uned Stat -- at the Suzy-Q bar on Polk Street.

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

From the Castro District to famo bars om history, San Francis is full of gay bars, clubs and mojre. * historic gay bars san francisco *

Members set up a phone-tree to warn each other of impendg raids, set up relief funds and raised money for homophile groups like the Dghters of Bilis, the Mattache Society and the Not? :In 1964, Life magaze featured a special report lled "Homosexualy Ameri.

One of the first mastream discsns of S&M, the article tablished San Francis the mds of middle Ameri (and lns of gay men) as a place of sexual diversy and tolerance. :The Stud helped cubate San Francis's gay hippie movement -- even Janis Jopl would e when she was town -- and provid an alternative to sweater queens and htlers. Wdows were smashed, police were fought off for hours and a muny showed s strength, providg a flashpot for gay and trans anizg on the Wt Coast: In 's wake a work of social, polil and LGBT-centric medil groups Hall (1971), 482 Castro:The origal Toad Hall -- a bar of the same name recently opened a nearby space -- is often creded wh lnchg the Castro as a gay district.

One of the first bars to chew a jebox favor of a DJ, Toad Hall ma the sleepy Eureka Valley a statn for gay men on the weekends, and soon bs owners and homebuyers saw the potential for a real neighborhood where gays uld live Peaks Tavern (1972), 401 Castro:Prr to Tw Peaks, gay bars were secretive affairs wh eher black-out wdows or no wdows at all.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* HISTORIC GAY BARS SAN FRANCISCO

18 Bt Gay Bars San Francis Right Now .

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