“‘Hi Dianne, love your hair,” shouted some of the queens as the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” blared through the speakers, according to Mark Freeman’s 1994 historical article of the space.Ī post shared by Tobirus Mozelle on at 6:37pm PDTĪfter moving locations to Harrison Street, just two blocks away, in 1987, the Stud turned even more experimental, with some evenings featuring Dolly Parton ditties or a klezmer-music mosh pit. She arrived during the club’s Monday punk night. Even then-mayor Dianne Feinstein popped in during a reelection pit stop later that year to shake hands with patrons. George Matson, one of its first owners, described it as a “ bar for people, not just pretty bodies.” When the White Night riots erupted in 1979, after Dan White received minimal sentencing for shooting and killing Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, people came to the Stud to party. The Stud started life as a man-heavy, macho space when it opened on Folsom Street in 1966, with wall art that changed according to the zodiac calendar. Jinkx Monsoon, winner of the aforementioned season five of the reality show, sang while strumming a ukulele.Īfter going into the wee hours of the morning - after dozens and dozens of performances, some of them live, some prerecorded - the Stud as we knew it came to an end. Juanita More, famed local drag queen and DJ, talked about going to the Stud when she was in high school. Peaches Christ, the filmmaker–slash–drag queen whose midnight-movie screenings helped put Showgirls on the cult-cinema map, talked about how she once got eighty-sixed from the bar and had to deliver a handwritten apology letter to get back in. Out came a barrage of queens, past and present, performing songs, swapping stories, and reading each other just like they did onstage during pre-coronavirus times. Then, with whiplash speed, the party started. “But also of channeling our pain into performance, celebrating life even as we acknowledge the darkness surrounding us.” “In times like these, we queens fall back on traditions of taking to the streets,” said Mahogany, a season-five queen on RuPaul’s Drag Race. native Honey Mahogany, wearing a black gown and a crown of black flowers, looked directly into the camera as she opened the ceremony, held on May 31. The bar plays house music while patrons dance with their shirts off it's arguably the most popular gay bar in San Francisco.It was a splendid, fitting farewell for the Stud, San Francisco’s iconic gay bar: a virtual 12-hour drag show that swung from festival to funeral and back again. When they say anything goes here, they really mean it. The bar draws a mixed crowd of men and women of all types who enjoy the large heated patio, drag shows, and never ending debauchery.Īnother SF staple is Powerhouse, located in SoMa. Meanwhile, Moby Dick is a classic Castro neighborhood dive bar that's been around since the 1980s and has a more relaxed environment, with pinball, pool and conversation.įor the true San Francisco experience, no self-respecting gay man could visit the city without at least stopping by The Eagle. This is San Francisco’s clubbiest gay bar. Read moreīar-wise, Badlands serves wonderful drink specials while techno, disco, and 80s dance music bumps over the stereo system, transforming a civile happy hour into a sweaty dance pit!įor beers, beards, and all kinds of scruff, 440 Castro offers mature men in their 30s, 40s, and older (as well as those who want to be in their company) a riotous space to let loose in on regular underwear nights.Īt The Café, a mixed crowd of men and women get down beneath strobes and spotlights. SoMa, meanwhile, hosts more alternative gay crowds and fetish-loving communities.īar-wise, Badlands serves wonderful drink specials while techno, disco, and 80s dance music bumps over the stereo system, transforming a civile happy hour into. Not surprisingly, the historic Castro neighborhood is home to most of the gay bars San Francisco has to offer. This city surrounded by water is also infused with libations.