The Stud, San Francisco’s oldest gay bar, has announced that it will be closing its doors for good as the coronavirus pandemic has left it no longer able to pay rent.

The legendary queer bar opened in 1966 on San Francisco’s Folsom street, and in 1987 moved to its current location on 9th Street

Many queer icons have performed at or visited the stud over its 55-year history, including Sylvester, Etta James, Bjork, Lady Gaga, Ana Matronic, Justin Vivian Bond, Michael Stipe, Lady Miss Kier, RuPaul, and Charo.

It has faced many difficulties, and in 2016 a massive rent increase almost shut it down.

But the San Francisco LGBT+ community pulled together and formed The Stud Collective, making the venue “the very first co-op nightclub in the United States”.

When San Francisco’s lockdown measures went into effect, The Stud said it planned to close for seven weeks and reopen on May 1.

At the time, it posted on its website: “We’ve survived homophobia, anti-gay police violence, earthquakes, riots, eviction, the AIDS epidemic, the dot.com era, and hyper-gentrification…and we’re going to survive this too.”MY FIRST TIME WITH A GIRL!!Taiwan made itself the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage ️️Best Chocolate: Baby Ruth?Do you remember Tom? – Queer Eyea skit for my bisexuals ️️SEXUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE…A PRIDE MESSAGE TO ALL MY BABES️️sex game – ticklingSex Game – Wrestling10 WAYS COME OUT ️ (1/2)Flat Iron Popcorn HackThis is Life: Alex Gede Ep. 5This is Life: Alex Gede Ep. 2What’s In The Box? Hair ExtensionsRAINBROWSThe Queer Catch-Up: Trans Stories Ep. 5Happy Pride Month! ️Sexercise – Making love all dayTaylor Swift SLAYS pride monthWorld Wide Wed: Gay/Lesbian Marriage – Ep.9Happy Pride wait for it…A PRIDE MESSAGE TO MY BEAUTY BABESThis is Life: Alex Gede Ep. 1sex game – cooking while you make loveRAINBOW GRILLED CHEESE Insane cheese pullSTORYTIME: HOW I KNEW I WAS BIThis is Life: Trans Twins Ep. 5Workouts w/ @frankiegrande #fireworklive2sex game – the feastHappy pride monthThe Queer Catch-Up: Trans Stories Ep. 2DJing in Pride Parade in my hometown in Brazil, to over two hundred thousand people, in the name of love #LOVEWINSSex Game – Voicing Your DesiresDrag race gone wrong! #Fireworklive2 #frankieGrandeBISEXUAL STARTER PACK PART 1 ️Denver Pride 2019 I am proudly pansexual!

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It moved its weekly “Drag Alive!” show to the live-streaming network Twitchand launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise funds for its staff, but it has now been announced that the 9th Street bar will be closing its doors for good.

While the bar will not be able to return to its home of more than three decades, The Stud Collective is determined to reopen its doors in the future at a different location.

The Stud co-owner Marke Bieschke insisted in a piece for 48Hills: “The Stud, the nightlife entity, is not dead… By closing the doors on our location—a place that holds memories for almost the entire city, and which survived both the AIDS and app years, as well as two tech booms and two economic busts, all with wigs a-flyin’—we’re able to survive another day, in a new Stud incarnation.”

The Stud plans to hold a “drag funeral” via Zoom to honour the legendary bar and its legacy on May 31.