"I found it amazing it has been around 40 years," said Foley, the parent of a lesbian teenage daughter. "This has implications for communities across the globe to recognize the inherent diversity of humans, of all of us," said Pearlman, whose tenure on the panel is expected to end when Mayor London Breed names a new person to serve in his seat.Ĭommissioner Chris Foley noted how a close gay friend of his from when he lived in Indiana often came to San Francisco for vacations and frequented the Eagle bar until his passing from AIDS.
He deemed landmarking a building use like the Eagle bar "somewhat revolutionary" because of the role it has played in the leather and LGBTQ communities the last four decades.
I came to San Francisco as a gay man to live my life as I wanted to," recalled Pearlman. "Landmarking this building makes me happy to be a San Franciscan. The 1,400 square foot patio is believed to be one of the largest such outdoor spaces in city, according to the planning report. Gay commissioner Jonathan Pearlman also recalled attending Sunday beer bust fundraisers at the bar on behalf of AIDS agencies he was associated with after moving to San Francisco in 1989. "One of the clear messages I kept reading was how a lot of people moved here to San Francisco because they wanted to live as they wanted to, and the Eagle was one of the first places they felt at home," said Black of the numerous letters in support of landmarking the bar sent in by members of the public. Commissioner Kate Black noted she attended fundraisers at the Eagle in the 1980s and early 1990s when she served on the board of an AIDS nonprofit. The Historic Preservation Commission unanimously voted 7-0 Wednesday in support of landmarking the bar. The planning department called the venue "a cornerstone for San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) Leather and LGBTQ communities." The 55-page report goes into detail about the property, from its world-famous outdoor patio to its "porcelain trough" urinal, and traces how for nearly 40 years it has been host to "extensive fundraising efforts" that raised millions of dollars for AIDS-related and other charities. In a report released ahead of the May 19 meeting of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, the planners noted the gay-owned venue is one of the longest operating LGBTQ bars in the city. San Francisco Planning Department staff had deemed the local Eagle that first opened in 1981 at 396-398 12th Street worthy of being designated a city landmark, as the Bay Area Reporter first reported last week. Atlanta officials christened their Eagle bar, which opened in 1987, a city landmark in December. It will also be the second leather Eagle bar in the country to be deemed a city landmark. It is set to become the eighth property in the city with ties to LGBTQ history to be designated a city landmark and the first related to leather history. It is the site of Atlanta Leather Pride, and a police raid on the bar in 2009 became a foundational moment in Atlanta LGBTQ history.A San Francisco historic advisory panel is recommending that city officials landmark the South of Market Eagle bar for its importance to the leather and LGBTQ communities. The Atlanta Eagle has been a mainstay in Atlanta’s LGBTQ community for more than 30 years. “The thought of losing our building has been very emotional for me,” Ramey continued, “but the thought of where we’re going and getting there is just so exciting.” Ramey said he hopes to host VIP farewell parties before the closure so small groups can have the chance to say goodbye to the building. We’re going to come back bigger, better, stronger than ever.”Īll activities at the Eagle have been moved outdoors due to the pandemic, and they will continue on until the closure in November. “We are not going out of business,” Ramey said. Ramey iterated that the closure is temporary and they will be relocating to an undecided location in June of next year should the pandemic be curbed and it’s “safe for us to gather again.” But the good news is the reason our sales are down is because we have such an incredible, smart community that knows we’re in a pandemic and have made the decision to stay safe and stay home, and I respect that decision.” “The Eagle is financially suffering, just like everyone can imagine,” he said. He accredited the coronavirus for the necessity of the closure. According to Ramey, the club will have its last night on Saturday, November 14. Owner Richard Ramey announced that the bar would be closing via Instagram and Facebook live. The Atlanta Eagle will be closing its current location on Ponce de Leon Ave.