Leatherneck — San Francisco Vintage 1977–1978 Gay Leather Bar Tee

Located at 278 11th Street, at the corner of Folsom, Leatherneck was one of San Francisco's most outrageous gay leather bars, a short-lived but legendary establishment that took the city's already thriving leather scene and gave it a wonderfully kinky military makeover.

Opened in June 1977 by Allan Lowery, Leatherneck occupied the former Covered Wagon, a popular gay bar that had operated at the location since 1968.

Lowery had a particular vision for his new establishment: a bar inspired by the United States Marine Corps, complete with military imagery, leather-clad clientele, and the sort of masculine atmosphere that made Folsom Street internationally famous.

The interior featured leather bondage equipment, custom-built structures, and a series of enormous illustrated panels depicting the adventures of Pecs O'Toole, a fictional Marine recruit whose military training was considerably more interesting than anything you'd find at Parris Island.

Created by legendary gay cartoonist Al Shapiro, better known as A. Jay, the panels measured an impressive four by eight feet and were installed in the bar's boarded-up windows.

Each new installment was unveiled at a special event, drawing crowds of leather men eager to discover what sort of trouble Pecs had gotten himself into.

The bar also attracted the attention of Drummer magazine, the influential gay leather publication that helped define the era's hypermasculine aesthetic.

In August 1977, writer and future Drummer editor Jack Fritscher published an illustrated feature celebrating Leatherneck, accompanied by photographs from Jim Stewart, whose gritty images captured the wonderfully uninhibited atmosphere of San Francisco's leather underground.

The article introduced readers to Leatherneck's bartenders, rugged clientele, and the particularly enthusiastic military fantasies that inspired the establishment.

During the late 1970s, San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood had become the center of America's gay leather culture, with establishments like Fe-Be's, the Ramrod, the Ambush, the Boot Camp, and the Brig attracting men from across the country.

Leatherneck was right in the middle of it.

Unfortunately, the competition was fierce.

By late 1977, newer leather bars were drawing customers away, and Lowery attempted to revive the business with a remodeled interior and a revised military-themed identity.

But the experiment didn't last.

Leatherneck closed in 1978, ending a remarkably brief but colorful chapter in San Francisco's gay nightlife history.

The location subsequently became Dirty Sally's, followed by the San Francisco Plunge, continuing a long tradition of establishments catering to the city's adventurous nightlife crowd.