BARtab :: BARchive

Thanks to matching offer from anonymous donor, Bay Area Reporter extends fundraising appeal

Thanks to matching offer from anonymous donor, Bay Area Reporter extends fundraising appeal

  • by Michael Yamashita
  • May 1, 2020

Thank you very much, it has been both humbling and encouraging receiving your generous support when so many are also in need of help. So far, we have raised just over $25,000 and are just 15% away from reaching our goal of $30,000.

The Forgotten Pandemic - Echoes of AIDS History in COVID-19

The Forgotten Pandemic - Echoes of AIDS History in COVID-19

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Apr 28, 2020

Flurries of articles contrasting COVID-19 with HIV have been published in the past few months. None of them initially drew my attention, as the pandemics seem quite different from one another.

You can help support the Bay Area Reporter fundraising campaign

You can help support the Bay Area Reporter fundraising campaign

  • by Michael Yamashita
  • Apr 15, 2020

San Francisco is one of 11 US cities that is fortunate to have a legacy LGBT publication by us, for us, and about us. Help preserve the BAR as an historic and important community institution for the future.

Remembering Esta Noche as queer, POC spaces shutter

Remembering Esta Noche as queer, POC spaces shutter

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Apr 15, 2020

The long illustrious life of the Mission bar Esta Noche, its recent closure and the more recent loss of Club BnB marks a loss of LGBTQ People of Color venues.

Charlotte Coleman: Gay bar superstar: lesbian entrepreneur's 45 years of success

Charlotte Coleman: Gay bar superstar: lesbian entrepreneur's 45 years of success

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Mar 25, 2020

Charlotte Coleman's bars grew from the harassment of the 1950s. But the unintended consequence of losing a job was that she wasn't just a bar owner: she had such business acumen that some of her bars still exist till today.

Big Glass Half-full - LGBT life in the Fillmore of the 1950s and '60s

Big Glass Half-full - LGBT life in the Fillmore of the 1950s and '60s

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Feb 19, 2020

"We used to go to jazz clubs after 2am and drink liquor out of coffee cups. Relations between blacks and whites were excellent. They were glad to have us out in the Fillmore. We were treated like queens, and I don't mean in that sense!"

10th annual readers' poll starts

10th annual readers' poll starts

  • by Cynthia Laird
  • Jan 29, 2020

This year marks the 10th annual Bay Area Reporter readers' poll, the Besties, and voting begins Thursday, January 30.

Tim Lewis: the jazz musician and graphic artist's 'gift of sound and vision'

Tim Lewis: the jazz musician and graphic artist's 'gift of sound and vision'

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Jan 8, 2020

Tim Lewis has been making music and defining the visual landscape of San Francisco for over forty years. There have been peaks during this period when he was playing as many as three gigs a night, and lows where it has been weeks before performances.

Harry Partch at Opus: How the iconoclastic composer performed at a 1950s San Francisco gay bar

Harry Partch at Opus: How the iconoclastic composer performed at a 1950s San Francisco gay bar

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Nov 26, 2019

On the list of things that made composer Harry Partch unique, sexuality is admittedly a minor factor. More unusually, he gave two talks on his music at Opus One, which was both a classical music bar and gay bar in North Beach.

When Doris Fish Resurfaced - 'Blonde Sin' silkscreens at the 2007 Castro Street Fair

When Doris Fish Resurfaced - 'Blonde Sin' silkscreens at the 2007 Castro Street Fair

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Oct 30, 2019

Found treasure that tells the tale of personal history is a story that has been repeated many times. When some silkscreens of drag performer Doris Fish were discovered, a lost legacy became reborn.

Finding Fe-Be's - Rediscovering the history of an iconic bar

Finding Fe-Be's - Rediscovering the history of an iconic bar

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Sep 25, 2019

One thing about Fe-Be's that most people know it is that it was the first leather bar on Folsom Street. If there is a second thing people know, it's that the bar was the place that the iconic "Leather David" was born. But there's more to the bar's story.

Robbie Robinson makes history: former bartender and barber reveals a lost gay San Francisco

Robbie Robinson makes history: former bartender and barber reveals a lost gay San Francisco

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Aug 28, 2019

James "Robbie" Robinson visited San Francisco while stationed at Parks Air Force base in the East Bay in 1957. After being cruised on Market Street, the man led him to the Silver Dollar Bar. His visit began a gay journey in creating community.

Taking the Detour: Fond remembrances of a sexy cruise bar

Taking the Detour: Fond remembrances of a sexy cruise bar

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Jul 24, 2019

Fourteen years after the original Detour Bar closed, mention of it evokes strong memories for patrons, especially after news of a new very different bar taking its name. Let's recall the sexy, cruisy original.

From Stonewall to the White Horse: The Bay Area's part in uprisings that changed the world

From Stonewall to the White Horse: The Bay Area's part in uprisings that changed the world

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Jun 26, 2019

Unlike 1969's Stonewall, disturbances in San Francisco started over job rights. Because the disturbances spread and issues multiplied, they would eventually include at least three bars, including Oakland's White Horse.