For nearly two decades, The Lexington Club was the beating heart of San Francisco’s queer women’s community. Open from 1997 to 2015, the Lex wasn’t just a bar — it was a landmark for lesbians, queer women, gender-nonconforming folks, and anyone who needed a home base in a city that changed faster than its community could keep up.
Tucked into the Mission with neon glow and concrete grit, the Lexington was everything at once: a dive, a dance floor, a gathering place, a sanctuary. Cheap drinks, packed weekends, first kisses, lifelong friendships — the Lex held it all. Long before most lesbian bars vanished nationwide, this one defined its city’s queer identity with unapologetic swagger and warmth.
A reminder of the nights loud enough to drown out the world, and the rare kind of bar that becomes a cultural memory the moment its doors close.
(The Lexington Club • San Francisco, CA • 1997–2015 — Mission District icon.)
