The Black Cat Café: San Francisco’s Original Queer Mecca
On a bustling stretch of Montgomery Street in San Francisco, a black cat once perched atop a bar’s sign—watchful, knowing, and just a little bit mischievous. That cat wasn’t merely a mascot. It was a sentinel for a cultural revolution. The Black Cat Café, operating from the 1940s to the early 1960s, was more than just a bar. It was a bohemian salon, a queer sanctuary, a civil rights battleground, and the stage on which one of America’s earliest drag queens dared to sing opera in a floor-length gown—in public.
A Saloon Reborn in Postwar San Francisco
The Black Cat had existed in some form since 1906, originally opening in the ashes of the earthquake and fire that leveled much of San Francisco. During Prohibition, it operated as a speakeasy, dodging raids and authorities with the same defiant spirit that would define its later years. But it wasn’t until Sol Stoumen, a straight Jewish World War II veteran and photographer, bought the café in the 1940s that the place truly came into its own.
Stoumen reopened the bar in 1945 after serving overseas, and almost immediately the Black Cat attracted a colorful clientele: sailors, beat poets, tourists, and increasingly, gay men who found themselves unwelcome in most other public establishments. The café’s vibe was loose and literary. It became a haunt for members of the Beat Generation—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and other bohemians frequently stopped in for a drink and a floor show. But it was the queer community who claimed the space most fully. In a time when being openly gay was grounds for arrest, the Black Cat became a bold act of collective visibility.
The Rise of José Sarria—and the Politics of Camp
In 1951, José Sarria—a former U.S. Army serviceman—was hired as a waiter. But he was far too charismatic to stay on the floor. He quickly became the Black Cat’s main attraction, performing full drag cabaret revues, operatic parodies, and spontaneous political speeches. His signature closing act was a rendition of “God Save Us Nelly Queens,” sung to the tune of “God Save the Queen,” which he encouraged the audience to sing with one arm raised high. The show was a campy, confrontational celebration of queer identity—at a time when such identity was legally and socially suppressed.
Sarria used his performances to educate patrons about their rights and mock the police raids that had become routine. He famously said, “United we stand, divided they catch us one by one.” His blend of humor and political messaging turned the Black Cat into both theater and rallying cry.
Legal Persecution and a Landmark Court Case
As the Black Cat grew in popularity with gay patrons, it also drew the attention of authorities. Throughout the 1950s, Stoumen and his staff were subjected to frequent harassment. Vice squads raided the bar, citing “lewd conduct” and accusing the bar of catering to “undesirables.” In 1949, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control revoked the Black Cat’s liquor license, arguing that the presence of homosexuals violated “public welfare and morals”.
Stoumen fought back—and took the case all the way to the California Supreme Court. In the 1951 decision Stoumen v. Reilly, the court ruled in Stoumen’s favor, stating that there was no evidence of illegal acts occurring and that mere presence of homosexuals was not sufficient grounds to close a business. It was a historic legal victory—one of the first judicial decisions in the U.S. to affirm that LGBTQ+ individuals had the right to gather in public.
But the battle was far from over. Authorities continued to harass the café, launching renewed efforts to shut it down. In 1963, after years of pressure and just ahead of its famously rowdy Halloween bash, the Black Cat’s license was revoked once again—this time for good.
A Drag Queen for Supervisor: The First Openly Gay Political Candidate
In 1961, just two years before the Black Cat’s closure, José Sarria made history by running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. It was the first time an openly gay person had ever run for public office in the United States. While he didn’t win, he garnered over 6,000 votes—enough to prove that the gay community was a political force to be reckoned with.
Sarria’s campaign was deeply rooted in the Black Cat’s ethos: joyful, defiant, and unapologetically queer. He ran in a simple black suit with a campaign poster that bore the words “Equality Before the Law.” Today, he is remembered as a pioneer of queer political visibility—and as the founder of the Imperial Court System, a philanthropic drag organization that still operates internationally.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum & Archives not only holds Sarria’s extensive personal papers; it also features an exhibit on Sarria in the permanent exhibition at their location in the Castro.
Legacy and Reverberation
The Black Cat Café may have closed its doors in 1963, but its spirit reverberated throughout San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ movements for decades. It laid the groundwork for queer public space and legal precedent. It raised the curtain—literally and figuratively—on drag as a political act. And it reminded an entire generation of queer San Franciscans that their community was not only real but worth fighting for.
In a city now peppered with rainbow flags and Pride murals, it’s easy to forget that these freedoms were once hard-won, fought for not just in the streets, but from bar stools, cabaret stages, and courtroom benches. The Black Cat Café, like its namesake, slipped through the cracks of convention and clawed its way into history—one high note, one lawsuit, and one unapologetic queen at a time.
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