The Stud (bar)

The Stud was originally started by George Mason and Alexis Muir in 1966. (Alexis Muir was a transgender woman then known as Richard Conroy; her surname Muir may be a reference to John Muir, who was her great-uncle.) Originally, the Stud was located at 1535 Folsom Street; in 1987, it moved to Ninth and Harrison Streets. This organizing resulted in the formation of a collective of nightlife professionals, which bought the business from Michael McElheney. The collective took ownership of the Stud on December 30, 2016, making it, according to collective member Nate Allbee, "the very first co-op nightclub in the United States." The Stud closed in May 2020, due to financial troubles stemming from a shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the Stud reopened on April 20, 2024, on 1123 Folsom Street. == South of Market gay culture in the 1960s and the Stud's significance ==

In the 1960s, San Francisco's primarily gay areas were Polk Street, the Tenderloin district, and South of Market. The Stud was also originally a Hell's Angels hangout; by 1969 it had become a dance bar for hippies on the margins of the leather scene and had a psychedelic black light mural by Chuck Arnett. == Trannyshack ==

One of San Francisco's longest running drag shows, Trannyshack, was started in 1996 by Heklina, a well known San Francisco drag queen. Many famous drag queens and celebrities graced the stage at Trannyshack, including many contestants from ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and RuPaul himself. Due to controversy over the use of the word "tranny", the show's name was called into question, prompting Heklina to end it and rebrand. == Honors ==

Alexis Muir, a cofounder and former owner, was honored in 2017 along with other notables, named on bronze bootprints, as part of San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley. The Stud is part of the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors established the district with legislation signed into law by the mayor on May 9, 2018. A ribbon cutting was held on June 12 that year outside the Stud. == In Popular Culture ==

The Stud appear in the 2014 HBO show Looking. In 2024 Land and Sea Press published The Stud Pin Archives by Chloe Miller. == References ==