Former Gay Bars

Straight/Mixed Bars That Used to be LGBT Bars

  1. Churchill (198 Church Street) – was the Transfer, the Bar on Church
  2. Lucky 13 (2140 Market Street) – was Mind Shaft, Alfie’s, Prism, 2140 Market, Industrial Dance Company, High Chaparral
  3. The Residence (718 14th Street) – was the Galleon Supper Club

Former LGBT Bars That Are No Longer Bars

  1. 469 Castro Street (now Slurp Noodle Bar; was Nothing Special, Special, Headquarters, Night Shift)
  2. 482 Castro Street (now part of Walgreen’s; was Toad Hall, DJ’s, the Phoenix)
  3. 506 Castro Street (vacant site of the Body Shop; was the Midnight Sun, City Dump, Midnight Sun again)
  4. 1760/1772 Market Street (now 1772 Market; was Rebel, Triple Crown, Octavia Lounge, Michael’s, Carta)
  5. 1884 Market Street (MMJ Marijuana Evaluation Center; was Libra, Tree House, JB’s House, Eagle Creek)
  6. 2029 Market Street (vacant; was Mecca, Gingerfruit)
  7. 2097 Market Street (residential; was Naked Grape, Tool Box, Hustle Inn)
  8. 2100 Market Street (formerly Home Restaurant; was Rear End Bar at Truck Stop, Hideaway at Church Street Station)
  9. 2166 Market Street (Klotz Watches & Clocks; was Cardi’s, Balcony, Academy)
  10. 2223 Market Street (now Pesce; was the Purple Pickle)
  11. 2275 Market Street (now Books, Inc.; was the Shed)
  12. 10 Sanchez Street (now residential; was Scott’s Pit)
  13. 290 Sanchez Street (now Makli Restaurant; was the Jackhammer)

If we’ve missed anything or you wish to challenge whether something should or should not be included, we’d love to hear from you.

12 thoughts on “Former Gay Bars

  1. this was ages ago (c. 1970) but there was a bar called the moth and flame (at 1400 california st., i believe) and it had the greatest neon sign: an animated sign that showed a moth flying into a flame. i don’t suppose there’s any chance of finding a photo of it?

  2. There was a small old bar on Market Street called the Starlight Room. Not the one at the Drake Hotel. It was right next to an adult movie theatre. It was owned by Robert (Bob) Shore. I want to say it was around Market and Sixth. It was closed in the mid 80’s and the the building were torn down after the 89 earthquake. Is there any information about this?

    1. I remember this bar. One night I went home with the bartender. It was across from the fountain (the fountain is still there) and it was next to the Strand Theatre which in its later years I think became porn.

      1. I remember Strand Theater. Fun times up in the balcony…oh my… the good old days, before google come to town.

    2. Hi John
      In my early 20s, THE STARLIGHT ROOM was my favorite place to get away from everyone. If you asked the barkeep nicely, he’d flip a switch, and the floor would start to rattle slightly. Then came a mechanical groan as the circular bar and the stools around it began to slowly revolve in the center of the room. It was like something from a B 40s film noir, or a Jim Thompson novel. I believe the bar actually closed in 1990, as the retrofitting the building needed would cost as much as razing and rebuilding . I was sad to see it, and the notorious grindhouse STRAND THEATER, lost to history with nary a trumpet-call. Starlight Room was a swank hot-spot just after WW2, and I’d love to know if anyone thought to preserve the revolving bar mechanics for posterity. Rotating bars are a forgotten ostent of 20th century Americana which is nearing extinction.

      1. I moved to SF just pre-AIDS so you can imagine it was WILD. I loved to have a couple of drinks at The Starlight Room after a workout at the YMCA or watching a double camp feature at the Strand. I WAS 18 AND THOUGHT I WAS IN HEAVEN!

  3. Anyone remember a bar in the Castro during the 70’s or so, back when Harvey Milk was in office, called The Perk??? My friend is listening to a book about the history of the Castro and it’s mentioned briefly but we can’t find anything about it anywhere……

  4. The black Rose 🌹 in San Francisco. That place save my life. I was 26 years old when I walked into it for the first time. 1986. It was the first time in my life to meet people like myself. It was like I was born again. The girl in me came alive big time. Oh I miss the old San Francisco.

  5. Does anyone remember the RAMS HEAD in the tenderloin? I love going in there as a girl. Anything could happen….. don’t you miss those days. Having sex was like having a cigarette…. San Francisco is becoming like the old Time Square in New York. Gone forever. Now we have become slaves to rent..
    My name is Chris but my girl name is Tara. Do you remember me?….oh yeah… that was me
    … you naughty boy..

  6. I had graduated from U.C.S.B. in 1982 with a degree in finance. I took a job at a brokerage firm in San Francisco, and I immediately fell in love with the city. I soon found the Castro, and met a guy who soon became my boyfriend. He owned the unit at 486 Castro Street. Not too long after that, I got into the leather scene, and used to frequent the Ambush, The SF Eagle, etc. The gay scene was wide open back then. I also used to go to the New Bell Saloon on Polk Street and watch the late, great David Kelsey perform on stage. Ah, those were the days. I remember well the Castro Clones, hanging out at “Hibernia Beach” where A LOT of cruising went on…. This was all pre AIDS epidemic… I also remember Busby’s ( ? ) on Polk Street… If I remember correctly it had a metal dance floor, and the cocktail waitress was a African American tranny… She was really pretty and very sweet… I lived in SF until about 2002. By that time the Castro was becoming more straight, homelessness and crime were on the rise, and I had lost many close friends to AIDS. I made the decision to finally move away, and it was a really difficult decision. Now I’m an old man ( 62 ), but I will always have wonderful and bittersweet memories to cherish.

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