We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!" "We will continue to host fundraisers for all the organizations from the past, as well as welcoming new ones, to make the SF Eagle the pride of our community once again. 's new Armory Club (14th & Mission) will be open in time for the Folsom Street Fair. We just couldn't let such a historic place like this disappear! has long been a special place, not only to the LGBT community, but to the entire community for decades, not to mention the live music community as well. Mike and Alex have posted on the Eagle's site ( "The bar and patio located at 398 12th St. This might not seem important to some, but this is a huge victory over the gentrification of the SoMa area, where our community's roots are so entrenched. Chief among them has been the formidable Anna Conda, who has led the way in getting the bar reopened and keeping it gay. 28 at the Lone Star Saloon, the Eagle's new owners Mike Leon and Alex Montiel celebrated the welcome news with supporters and the folks who campaigned to get the Eagle reopened. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence blessed it as a "hallowed queer space." During the early height of the AIDS crisis, the ashes of many people were scattered there. The bar wasn't just a great space with a great Sunday afternoon happy hour. Whatever the case, when the Eagle closed it left behind a rich legacy and quite a few upset folks.
The costs of the move, plus the fact that the bulk of the Eagle's business was on Sunday afternoons, probably contributed to the Eagle's closing. At the time, the Hole in the Wall had recently relocated a few doors down from the Powerhouse on Folsom. It's been alleged that the Eagle was closed due to over seven months' non-payment of rent. Lucky for us, that protest helped delay the investor at the Foreign Cinema carrying out his plans.įormer owners John Gardner and Joseph Banks, who also own the Hole in the Wall, closed the Eagle to supposedly focus on that bar. The protest was titled "A Funeral for Queer Space" and themed as a New Orleans Jazz-infused funeral. Anyway, this takeover was the result of the story that the owners of Skylark were going to reopen the Eagle as a non-gay venue.Âīack in July, protesters picketed outside the Foreign Cinema after news broke that the popular restaurant was planning to turn the Eagle into an upscale restaurant and bar.
I know I sound petty, but the overuse of the term "ass-less chaps" just bugs me. The correct term should be "bare-assed," which means the person wearing the chaps has their ass exposed (and usually a jock in the front).
"Ass-less" really isn't the correct term. Many rumors flew around, including one that resulted in an "ass-less chaps" takeover of the Skylark. Immediately upon its closing, volunteers tirelessly worked to get the bar reopened and/or declared a historical building by the city. The closed Eagle seemed to have an aura of its own ghosts of, well, great "performances" past. Walking by it was like walking past a tomb, or one of those boarded-up theaters that still contain the ghosts of great performances past. The bar was closed in 2011 and has sat there ever since. Last week the social networks were buzzing with the news that the Eagle Tavern (398 12th St.) is being re-opened as the SF Eagle, as a gay bar (whew!) that's gay-owned.