San Francisco Eagle
| San Francisco Eagle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
  Location within San Francisco County  Location within California  Location within the United States | |
| 37°46′12″N 122°24′48″W / 37.7700°N 122.4134°W | |
| Type | bar, event venue, music venue |
| Location | 398-12th Street, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| History | |
Start date | 1981 |
| Site notes | |
| Website | sf-eagle |
| Type | Cultural |
| Designated | October 29, 2021[1] |
| Reference no. | 295 |
San Francisco Eagle (also SF Eagle, or simply The Eagle; formerly Eagle Tavern) is a gay bar founded in 1981 in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, in the U.S. state of California.[2][3][4][5] It is part of the informal, global network of "Eagle" bars that cater to leather and kink communities.[6] The bar also caters to the bear community.[7][8]
History
[edit]The Eagle was founded in 1981 by Bob Damron, and Jay Levine; Damron was also the creator of Bob Damron’s Address Book, a gay travel guide.[9][10] During the early years of the AIDS crisis the bar lost many employees, and the bar manager Terry Thompson raised funds to support the community, and AIDS charities.[9]
In 1998, it was sold to John Gardiner and Joe Banks, with the caveat it would continue to have the name “Eagle” in it.[9] It was re-named Eagle Tavern in 1998.[9] In August 2012, it was taken over by Lex Montiel and Mike Leon, and was renamed SF Eagle.[9] Lex Montiel is one of the bar's owners, as of 2018.[8]
The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along Ringold Alley honoring the leather subculture; it opened in 2017.[11][12] One of the works of art is metal bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people (including Terry Thompson, who had managed the bar) who were an important part of the leather communities of San Francisco.[12][11]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ "SF Eagle in SOMA gets city landmark status". Hoodline. SFist LLC. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ↑ Bourn, Drew (October 29, 2025). "The San Francisco Eagle". San Francisco Heritage.
- ↑ "Eagle Tavern's fate splits gay community". SFGate. 2012-08-26. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ "SF Eagle (Formerly Eagle Tavern), San Francisco, California, United States - Bar Review". Condé Nast Traveler. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ↑ Barmann, Jay (January 19, 2021). "SF Eagle Bar Passes First Hurdle Toward Landmark Status". SFist. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021.
SF's Eagle Tavern opened in 1981, just over a decade after the Eagle's Nest bar in New York City inspired a wave of similarly named leather bars opened around the country for masculine-presenting gay men who enjoyed the scene.
- ↑ "How "The Eagle" became one of the most recognized gay bar names". NBC News. 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
- ↑ Dave, Wonder (2015-12-02). "Gay San Francisco: a guide to clubs, bars, drag shows and queer culture". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- 1 2 "San Francisco gives cultural status to leather, gay district". AP News. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Young, Kerri (April 29, 2020). "LGBTQ Legacy Business Spotlight: Crusin' the Castro Walking Tours, SF Eagle Bar, El Rio". San Francisco Heritage. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
- ↑ Fieseler, Robert W. "Gay Geographer". National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
- 1 2 "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir". Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- 1 2 Paull, Laura (21 June 2018). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway – J". J. Jweekly.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
External links
[edit]
Media related to San Francisco Eagle at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
