The Black Cat Cafe Memorial

Called "the bohemian bar" by Jack Kerouac and "the best gay bar in America" by Allen Ginsberg, The Black Cat Cafe could also be called California's first legally-recognized gay bar. After owner and Holocaust survivor, Sol Stoumen, fought to protect a safe space for his queer patrons, he ultimately sued for his right to serve "known homosexuals." Pioneering activists and entertainers, like José Sarria, performed regular drag parodies and used the space as his campaign headquarters when Sarria became the first openly-gay candidate for office in 1961. Eventually, its legal debts and political enemies overwhelmed it and as the gay scene drifted toward Polk Street, it closed its doors on Halloween night 1963. Every year after, gay men would leave mounds of flowers at its doorsteps to honor what a special place it had been. It's a tradition we'd like to restart.

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