SFist.com is reporting that the Gangway, the oldest remaining gay bar in the City — and perhaps the City’s very first gay bar — may be closing soon.
The Gangway, which first opened on April 10, 1910, was reportedly put on the market about six months ago. SFist has identified a liquor license transfer application showing that it may be taken over by a new bar that is at least for now being called Daddy Bones. The new owner is a company is called Breaking Chad, Inc.
The Gangway has been publicly identified as a gay bar since 1961, but there’s some evidence that it may have been more covertly gay for a lot longer. When the Old Crow on Market Street closed in 1980 after 45 years, it claimed to have been the oldest gay bar. But others note that the Gangway was first raided by the police for sexual activity on the premises in October of 1911.
If it closes or becomes a straight bar, that will leave the Cinch as the sole remaining gay bar in the Polk Gulch area, a neighborhood that was once the heart of San Francisco’s gay community.
So…. if this bar closes – what becomes San Francisco’s oldest Gay Bar?
Great question! The Cinch at 1723 Polk Street says it’s the second oldest gay bar (presumably after the Gangway). It started off as the Early Bird, a bar and restaurant, before the bar split off and became the Cinch Saloon. But I don’t know exactly what year they opened. Does anyone else know, and can anyone else confirm or deny that they’ll be the oldest remaining gay bar?