This September, Folsom Street in San Francisco between Eighth and 13th streets will close down to car traffic and welcome revelers to the largest kink and leather event of its kind. If you’ve never attended a Folsom Street Fair, you’ve surely seen photos.

But how did we get here?

There’s something magical about walking through the doors of a gay bar or club that's older than you are. You can almost feel the personal stories, the come-ons, the banter, and the longing for freedom seeping out of the nicked wood of the bar.  

Many of San Francisco’s legendary bars go way, way back--even before the Summer of Love--and are still thriving today. After all, what would the revolutions in San Francisco have meant without amazing places to celebrate change and embrace the freedom in diversity?

San Francisco is 49 square miles of story ideas.

San Francisco has been nominated for six categories in GayCities "Best Of 2019". Show your love for the City by the Bay by voting early and often. You can vote once per day until Dec. 9, 2019.

There are 15 total categories in this year's GayCities "Best Of 2019". These are the six that San Francisco is nominated for:

"Best City"

"Monument to Our History" - Harvey Milk Statue