Polk Gulch LGBTQI History

A Walking Tour

by Nan Alamilla Boyd, 2026, author of Wide Open Town

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Video featuring Nan Alamilla Boyd, filmed and edited by Chris Carlsson, May 16, 2026

1. Cloud Seven, 2360 Polk Street, 1962-1982

The owners of the bar that would become the Cloud Seven in 1962 found that business was slow, and watching the neighborhood change, decided to turn it into a gay bar, after which they quadrupled their business. In the 1970s, this gay bar was large, popular, and cruisy. The 1976 Spartacus Gay Guide noted "Cruisy, long-popular dance bar catering to the young. If you're claustrophobic or hate crowds, avoid it."

Patrons at the Jumpin' Frog enjoying film night.

Life Magazine, 1964

2. Jumpin' Frog, 2111 (2109 or 2123?) Polk, 1961-1964

Opened in 1961 as a gay bar, the Jumpin' Frog was very popular and screened movies on Monday nights. It sponsored the first Beaux Arts Ball as a promotion and manager Daryl Glied convinced the Tavern Guild to adopt the Beaux Arts Ball as an annual fundraiser. Glied became the 3rd president of the Tavern Guild. The Jumpin' Frog was featured in a 1964 Life magazine spread on gay life in the United States, which dubbed San Francisco "the nation's gay capital."

3. Suzy Q, 1741 Polk Street, 1960-1962

A popular gay bar owned by Richard Oderio. In 1962, Phil Doganiero, a popular Suzy Q bartender, was elected the first president of the San Francisco Tavern Guild, an association of gay bar owners that met weekly at alternating host bars to protect themselves from police harassment.

4. The Cinch Saloon, 1723 Polk Street, 1988-present

The self-proclaimed "last standing gay bar on Polk Street" is a low-key leather bar with "kitschy cowboy character," including swinging saloon doors and a western theme. In 1999 there was faded Mexican paper-art hanging from the ceiling and a shrine to classic film star Maria Montez. Now, the bar is a shrine to Polk Street gay bars with a wall of historic photos of Polk's 1970s gay hustler scene.

5. N'Touch, 1548 Polk, 1974-2008 (now Kozy Kar)

A bar and disco frequented by Asian men in their 20s and 30s, it was owned by Bill Bentley and changed its name briefly in the 1980s to the Renegade then returned to N'Touch and began to feature cabaret entertainment. One review notes "Caucasian patrons were as often objects of desire as they were dismissed as 'rice queens' by disinterested Asians."

Marchers holding “Gay Freedom by '76” banner at O’Farrell and Polk during Gay Freedom Day Parade, June 30, 1974.

Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp72.085; © Greg Gaar Photography

6. Buzzby's, 1436 Polk Street, 1975-1986 (now Polk Street Gym)

Crowded from 8pm to closing, this was THE place to disco on Polk Street in the 1970s. A 1975 review calls it "the most popular gay bar on the street, mostly young and groovy guys... decor is of Busby Berkeley vintage."

7. Kimo's, 1351 Polk Street, 1978-2011

Started as a gay tiki bar by owner Kime Cochran in 1978, the bar shifted from drag shows to rock shows in the 1980s as AIDS decimated the neighborhood. Rock and occasional drag shows continued through the turn-of-the-century, and Metallica played here in 2002 under the name of Spun. When it closed in 2011 it was known as a gay and trans-friendly grunge haven.

Polk Street Fair, 1975.

Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp25.4819

8. Town Squire, 1318 Polk Street, 1960-1983

This trendy men's clothing store opened by a gay couple, August Territo and Terry Popek, and was an anchor for the gay commercial center that sprung up on Polk Street in the 1960s. It advertised in gay publications in the 1960s, and in its last years went by the name "Squire."

9. Gramaphone Records, 1314? Polk Street, 1961-1982

Randall Wallace and his partner, who had a record store in the Marina, found a derelict storefront next to the Squire, remodeled it and opened Gramaphone Records in May 1961.

Halloween 1975 on Polk Street.

Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp72.3450; © Greg Gaar Photography

10. The Giraffe, 1131 Polk, 1979-c. 2015 (was destroyed and replaced with new construction)

Before it became the Hemlock, a straight venue with live music, it was a gay bar with a huge brass and wood bar occupied by gay men in their 40s and 50s reading, rolling dice, or conversing.

11. The P.S., 1121 Polk, 1969-1986

A popular restaurant and gay bar with occasional live entertainment, the P.S. attracted Asian Americans. A 1971 review calls it the "largest gay restaurant in the city, very popular, extremely attractive bar, varying nightly special about $1.95 Service tends to be spotty at times, partially because they seem to hire for beauty rather than ability."

12. QT Bar, 1312 Post Street, late 1979-?

The QT was a hustler bar that hosted a weekly amateur strip night where young gay migrants, fresh off the Greyhound, stripped for a chance at a $100 prize

13. Diva's, 1081 Post Street, 1998-present

Diva's and its predecessor Motherlode (1988-1998) has been an important gathering spot and performance venue for trans women since the 1980s. It has a stage performance space on the ground floor, a 3rd floor dance floor, and a top floor lounge.

14. California Hall, 600 Polk Street (at Turk), 1912-

On January 1, 1965, the Council on Religion and the Homosexual hosted a drag ball at California Hall that was raided by police, initiating protests by clergy that transformed anti-gay policing in San Francisco.

Lie Back and Enjoy It map of Polk Gulch, c. 1972.

Created by Sweet Lips, aka Richard Walters, courtesy GLBT Historical Society

Gay Shame's 2008 Polk Street Gentrification map