From the Castro District to famo bars om history, San Francis is full of gay bars, clubs and mojre.
Contents:
- 5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED
- THE BT GAY BARS SAN FRANCIS
- BEHOLD: A MAP OF SAN FRANCIS'S LOST GAY BARS
5 HISTORIC SAN FRANCIS GAY BARS WE WISH STILL EXISTED
The bars helped shape and harn San Francis's gay inty. * 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.
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 *
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 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.
BEHOLD: A MAP OF SAN FRANCIS'S LOST GAY BARS
* historic gay bars san francisco *
: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.
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.