{{short description|Dive bar in San Francisco, California, United States}} {{use American English|date=July 2015}} {{use mdy dates|date=July 2015}} {{infobox restaurant | name = The Lexington Club | image = File:The Lexington Club.jpg | image_alt = The Lexington Club during the day | image_caption = | established = {{Start date|1997}} | closed = {{End date|2015}} | current_owner = Lila Thirkield | street_address = 3464 19th Street | city = San Francisco | state = California | postcode = 94110 | country = United States | website = {{URL|lexingtonclub.com}} | coordinates = {{coord|37.760263|-122.420829|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} }} '''The Lexington Club''', often referred to as '''The Lex''', was a [[dive bar]], primarily catered towards queer women, in the [[Mission District]] in the American city of [[San Francisco]], [[California]]. It was recognized as one of the central landmarks for LGBTQ culture, especially for lesbians and queer women, in San Francisco. The club was founded in 1997 and closed at the end of April 2015.
== History == The Lexington Club was opened in 1997 by Lila Thirkield as a response to the numerous options for gay men but lack of options for lesbians and other queer women in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sfbgarchive.48hills.org/sfbgarchive/2007/04/10/hot-lex/|title=Hot Lex|last=B.|first=Marke|date=April 10, 2007|website=San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966–2014|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-09}}</ref> She noticed that 16th and Mission had a "significant dyke presence" and decided that it would make a good neighborhood for her lesbian-owned business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sf-hrc.org/sites/sf-hrc.org/files/migrated/FileCenter/Documents/Advisory_Committees/LGBTAC/Pre_2012_Agendas_and_Minutes/January_20_2009_Minutes_0.pdf|title=Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee Minutes of the January 20, 2009 Meeting|publisher=Human Rights Commission, City of San Francisco|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> Other such businesses and services in the area catering to queer women included [[The Women's Building (San Francisco)|The Women's Building]], the Osento bathhouse, [[Old Wives Tales (bookstore)|Old Wives Tales]] bookstore, and Amelia's bar, which had closed in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Damon|title=Final Draft Historic Context Statement|url=http://www.friendsof1800.org/context_statement.pdf|publisher=Friends of 1800}}</ref> The Lexington's site at 19th and Lexington had previously housed a Mexican bar, Sunset.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tea|first1=Michelle|title=Gay (And Not So Gay) Moments in San Francisco History|url=http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/3364-gay-and-not-so-gay-moments-in-san-francisco-history|website=The Bold Italic|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>
In October 2014, Thirkield announced that she would sell the Lexington Club and close the establishment in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thirkield|first1=Lila|title=Facebook post|url=https://www.facebook.com/LexingtonClub/posts/10152758004223503|website=Facebook|publisher=Lila Thirkield}}</ref> Thirkield cited rising rent and the changing neighborhood as factors behind her decision to sell,<ref>{{cite web|last1=B.|first1=Marke|title=Why SF's iconic dyke bar, the Lexington Club, is closing|url=http://48hills.org/2014/10/23/lexington-club-closing-owner-says-higher-rent-gentrification-gender-inequality-hurt-iconic-lesbian-bar/#permanently-moved|website=48 hills|date=October 24, 2014|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> specifically the decline of LGBT patrons residing in the area that made the business unsustainable.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://hoodline.com/2016/09/plaque-unveiled-to-commemorate-the-lexington-club|title=Plaque Unveiled To Commemorate The Lexington Club|last=Quinlan|first=Julia|date=September 20, 2016|work=hoodline|access-date=2017-03-25}}</ref> She is a co-owner of another bar in the Mission, Virgil's Sea Room.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barmann|first1=Jay|title=A New Bar With Hard French Roots, Virgil's Sea Room, Coming To the Mission|url=http://sfist.com/2013/05/28/a_new_bar_with_hard_french_roots_vi.php|website=SFist|publisher=Gothamist|accessdate=8 March 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112054424/http://sfist.com/2013/05/28/a_new_bar_with_hard_french_roots_vi.php|archivedate=January 12, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In February 2015, Thirkield announced that the Lexington Club would close at the end of April, and that the bar was being bought out by the PlumpJack Group,<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2015/02/24/lexington-club-announces-a-closure-date-in-april-plumpjack-moving-in/|title = Lexington Club announces a closure date in April; PlumpJack Group moving in|last = Lucchesi|first = Paolo|date = February 24, 2015|work = Inside Scoop SF|access-date = March 9, 2015}}</ref> owned by politician [[Gavin Newsom]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sf.eater.com/2015/2/24/8104509/lexington-club-closing-date-san-francisco-plumpjack-takes-over | title=Lexington Club Sets Closure Date; Newsom's PlumpJack Group Taking Its Space | date=February 24, 2015 }}</ref> The once vivid red space became a gray-interiored cocktail bar called Wildhawk.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sfist.com/2016/04/04/a_look_inside_wildhawk_former_lexington_club/ | title=This is What's Happened Inside the Former Lexington Club, Now Known as Wildhawk: SFist | date=April 4, 2016 | access-date=May 3, 2023 | archive-date=May 3, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503152914/https://sfist.com/2016/04/04/a_look_inside_wildhawk_former_lexington_club/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://sf.eater.com/2016/4/14/11358312/wildhawk-photos-mission-san-francisco#0 | title=Look Around Wildhawk, the Mission Bar Where Girls Run the World | date=April 14, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cntraveler.com/bars/san-francisco/wildhawk | title=Wildhawk, San Francisco, California, U.S. - Bar Review }}</ref>
== Closing and response == The bar closed on April 30, 2015,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://sfist.com/2015/04/23/lexington_club_crowdfunding_commemo.php|title = Lexington Club Bids Farewell This Weekend, Crowdfunds Commemorative Plaque|last = Pershan|first = Caleb|date = April 23, 2015|work = SFist|access-date = September 26, 2015|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151026144048/http://sfist.com/2015/04/23/lexington_club_crowdfunding_commemo.php|archivedate = October 26, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref> the last remaining lesbian bar in San Francisco.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = The Lexington Club is Closing Because the Mission Has "Dramatically Changed"| work=SF Weekly |url = http://www.sfweekly.com/foodie/2014/10/23/the-lexington-club-is-closing-because-the-mission-has-dramatically-changed|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Lesbian bars are nearly extinct and this is their eulogy| website=[[The Daily Dot]] |date = September 25, 2015|url = http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/eulogy-dyke-bar-livestream/|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> Community members, including the [[GLBT Historical Society]] and [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors|Supervisor]] [[David Campos (politician)|David Campos]], initiated a fundraiser for a commemorative plaque. It was unveiled in a ceremony on September 19, 2016.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> [[File:The Lexington Club sidewalk plaque, 2017.jpg|thumb|Commemorative sidewalk plaque outside the former Lexington Club]]
The Lexington Club Archival Project was started by two filmmakers, Susie Smith and Lauren Tabak, in early 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Two filmmakers work to preserve Lexington Club's history| work=Culture Blog! | date=April 17, 2015 |url = http://blog.sfgate.com/culture/2015/04/17/two-filmmakers-work-to-preserve-lexington-clubs-memory/#photo-624349|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> The project's mission is stated on their website as: "dedicated to documenting the stories, sounds and images from San Francisco's last full-time lesbian bar, which closed April 30th 2015."<ref>{{Cite web|title = ABOUT|url = http://www.lexingtonclubarchivalproject.org/about.html|website = Lexington Club Archival Project|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> The [[San Francisco International Film Festival]] screened a short version of the project's work-in-progress documentary film ''Never a Cover'' on April 30, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Goodbye Lexington! Long live the Lexington!|date = April 30, 2015|url = http://missionlocal.org/2015/04/goodbye-lexington-long-live-the-lexington/|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> As of September 2015, the project was continuing work on the feature-length documentary and had raised $20,656 in a Kickstarter project.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The Lexington Club Archival Project|url = https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2034046659/the-lexington-club-archival-project|website = Kickstarter|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref>
== Culture == [[File:The Lexington Club at night.jpg|thumb|At night, with neon sign.]] [[Michelle Tea]]'s book ''Valencia'' ({{ISBN|9781580050357}}), which takes place in the Mission District of San Francisco, mentions the Lexington Club. This book has been adapted into a film. Other movies that have featured or been set in the Lexington Club include ''Ashley 22'', ''How to Pick Up Girls'', ''By Hook or By Crook'', ''The Wild Search'', ''Mechanic's Daydream'', ''Getting Off'', and ''Lit''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shot For Shot: The Lexington Club on Film|url=http://www.roxie.com/ai1ec_event/shot-shot-lexington-club-film/|website=Roxie Theater|date=January 6, 2015|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>
== See also== {{Portal|LGBTQ}} * [[Rikki Streicher#Amelia's|Amelia's]] * [[Maud's (bar)|Maud's]] * [[Mona's 440 Club]] * [[Peg's Place (bar)|Peg's Place]] *[[Wild Side West]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://localwiki.org/sf/The_Lexington_Club LocalWiki: Lexington Club] * [https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/06/26/us/26BCFACES-4.html NYTimes: Spotlight on the Gay Community Today: Lila Thirkield] * [http://www.sfweekly.com/foodie/2014/10/23/the-lexington-club-is-closing-because-the-mission-has-dramatically-changed SF Weekly: The Lexington Club Is Closing Because the Mission Has "Dramatically Changed"] * [https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/movie-filming-closing-sf-hamburger-haven-19382209.php One of San Francisco's favorite diners Hamburger Haven to close for movie shoot (also filming at the Lexington Club) ]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington Club, The}} [[Category:1997 establishments in California]] [[Category:2015 disestablishments in California]] [[Category:Defunct lesbian bars in San Francisco]] [[Category:Nightclubs in San Francisco]] [[Category:Mission District, San Francisco]]