Iconic San Francisco gay bar will close for good without “immediate” funding

Twin Peaks Tavern (Photo: Twin Peaks/GoFundMe)

One of the oldest gay bars in the US is facing a very uncertain future unless it can quickly raise some additional funds.

Twin Peaks Tavern, in the heart of the Castro, is one of the city’s most famous gay bars and has a history stretching back almost 50 years.

It opened in 1935 but was taken over by lesbian friends and relaunched in 1972. Mary Ellen Cunha and Peggy Forster did something radical: they kept the venue’s large windows uncovered, making Twin Peaks the first gay bar in the US to have big, clear windows, allowing people to see in from the street. Previously, gay bars were boarded up or hidden behind discreet doors.

Related: 10 of the oldest and most iconic gay bars in the US

Twin Peaks has since passed on to new ownership and until 2020, remained one of the city’s most popular LGBTQ hangouts. However, the pandemic has changed that and it’s now battling for survival.

In April, it launched a GoFundMe to help it survive (bars in San Francisco have been closed for months because of the pandemic). This week, the owners posted an update. They’ve raised $78,000 of a $100,000 target, but unless they can get more money quickly, Twin Peaks’ closure could be permanent….

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