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50 years in 50 weeks: BARtab's 2010 debut
When asked to create a nightlife spinoff mini-magazine for the Bay Area Reporter, it took editor Jim Provenzano only a few seconds to devise the title, BARtab. Putting out a monthly second publication took a lot more time.
'The Letters of Thom Gunn' is both an intimate portrait of the poet and a window on the development of what would become gay and leather culture, and the rise of the hippies and drug culture.
In the second week of August, 2008, a beloved drag show reached its zenith, as host Heklina hosted the last weekly Trannyshack night at The Stud before exporting it to DNA Lounge and other larger venues.
A classic neighborhood bar, The Gangway was a tiny yet cozy tavern noted for its exterior décor of a boat's bowsprit. Inside, colorful locals drank from the early hours.
Being Folsom Week, we dive into the early roots of leather culture, specifically in California. 'The Life and Times of Larry Townsend: Saluting the 50th Anniversary of The Leatherman's Handbook,' by Jack Fritscher, is a festive romp.
As part of its ongoing Mighty Reel series, the GLBT Historical Museum will screen excerpts from videotapes of the first two Gay Games, held in San Francisco in 1982 and 1986.
Incredible as it seems, it has now been more than 20 years since Romanovsky and Phillips called it quits. Part of the reason it seems so amazing is that accolades continue to pour in about them all these years later.
Determined to pick some prominent arts event from 1986's Bay Area Reporter issues, what stuck out more prominently was the high number of phone sex ads.
While the Tom Robinson Band, then known for the inspiring folk-derived anthem, "Glad to be Gay," had a performance at the Old Waldorf (444 Battery St.), the venue's promoters used the ad to politicize their pro-gay presence.
The B.A.R.'s June 23, 1977 illustrated cover, an ad for The Balcony bar, took a macho cartoonish focus with art by Chuck Arnett, who was known more famously for his mural on the wall of the Tool Box bar.
As advertised in the April 17, 1974 'Bay Area Reporter,' the EndUp's Jockey Short Contest, immortalized by Armistead Maupin in his best-selling 'Tales of the City' series, took place frequently at the South of Market nightclub.
As we continue to celebrate the Bay Area Reporter's 50th anniversary, each week we'll take a nostalgic look at a highlight from each year's issues. In May 1, 1971 , a plumaged party seemed like a lot of fun.
With more than 900 articles penned for the Bay Area Reporter, I feel a strong connection as the newspaper celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. I thought to share some behind the scenes tales as well.