The Fairoaks Project

Photographer Frank Melleno captures the magic of the moment with this collection of candid Polaroid pictures from the Fairoaks Hotel in San Francisco, 1978.

Forward by Mark Thompson

FAIROAKS PROJECT 01 (MELLENO) | ADVOCATE.COM

A day and a night at the Fairoaks could mean a lot of things. The acrid smell of popper fumes and stale marijuana smoke. The clank of an eight ball in a rear pocket, the rattle of chains. Low moans and orgasmic shouts heard over an endlessly played Sylvester tune, “Do You Want to Funk With Me?” Giggles. Grunts. And whispers. The passing drifts of another cool fog spied through a curtained bay window. The happy laughter of good friends getting together. The slapping flesh of one-time lovers lustily gettin’ it on.

Those were the times to remember, not to ever forget--as if one could in their fleeting glory. Dateline: San Francisco, 1978. Life seemed never better in this fabled City-by-the-Bay. The gay revolution was in full flower—sexy, charged with itself, admitting no shadows. This brief zenith would be over in a blink. But for the denizens of the Fairoaks Hotel and other places like it all over town, it was eyes wide-open, as if every second counted. Because they did. The ticking of the clock of youthful beauty and passion was about to chime midnight and who knew what another morning would bring?

Photographer Frank Melleno must have intuited the once-in-a-lifetime magic of the moment when he took these candid Polaroid pictures. He’d been a member of the ‘70s gay commune that went on to purchase and convert a faded but wonderfully intact Victorian apartment building on the edge of a black neighborhood into a gay bathhouse.

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Reader Comments

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Name: Raymond Weaver
Date posted: 9/11/2010 5:30:55 PM
Hometown: Chicago

Comment:
What I especially like about the photos is that they are of real people and not the plastic, perfect body, gay men the merchandisers try to sell us.
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Name: Levi
Date posted: 8/20/2010 4:37:16 PM
Hometown: San Francisco

Comment:
These photographs bring about such interest and mystery to me. I'm 21 years old living in San Francisco and LOVING IT. i can't help but smile when looking at the style, mood and energy of the late '70's in san francisco. As much as I love it now, I can't imagine the zeitgeist of the times. Only through publications like this, movies and documentaries am I better able to capture the spirit of those great times. Thank You!
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Name: Craig
Date posted: 7/26/2010 7:30:26 PM
Hometown: W.C.

Comment:
I turned 21 in 1978 here in the bay area. And, looking at the pictures and reading the article don't necessarily make me miss the time as much as miss my youth. It's a much better era now for the glbt youth. And, when they are 52 years old and look back at their youth they will feel the same as we do. Those were the best of days.
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Name: JR
Date posted: 7/26/2010 1:29:20 AM
Hometown: Sarasota

Comment:
No sense dwelling on the negative....the use of terms like "Aids Dens" does no one any good. And makes it sound deserved!! They were living their lives........caught up in the new freedom they had found. Life is what it is......lets let this memory be fun....just for a day!
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Name: drkrm gallery
Date posted: 7/25/2010 9:59:53 PM
Hometown: los angeles

Comment:
Frank Melleno: The Fairoaks Project Polaroids from a San Francisco bathhouse 1978 is on display through August 1st at Highways Performance Space 1651 18th Street Santa Monica CA 90404 310-315-1459 highwaysperformance.org
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Name: drkrm gallery
Date posted: 7/25/2010 9:54:56 PM
Hometown: los angeles

Comment:
for more info on the Fairoaks Project and to purchase an exhibition catalog, go to fairoaks-project.com or drkrm.com/fairoaks.html
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Name: Michael R
Date posted: 7/25/2010 9:49:49 PM
Hometown: San Francisco

Comment:
Thank you, what a wonderful reminder of days gone by. I knew several of the men in these photographs, ah sweet angels one and all. It was a magical time in San Francisco and I'd do it all again, in a heartbeat. I almost feel sad for the generations that followed ours, however, I know you'll make your own memories. Here's to you, do something wonderful with this world, will ya, it's yours now!
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Name: Roy
Date posted: 7/25/2010 4:40:12 PM
Hometown: madison

Comment:
I found these photos to be very moving. I was in San Francisco at that time and the city was literally filled with AIDS dens such as this hotel; although at that time none of us knew what was being spread.
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Name: burt
Date posted: 7/25/2010 3:52:01 PM
Hometown: arnhem

Comment:
This collection of pictures makes me feel nostalgic. I am 47 years old and I can remember the style of those days, even if I still was a teenager back then. I came out in 1984, and AIDS was allready around in the US, however not all my friends believed it would ever reach Europe. Well, I was certain it would affect us as well. However, I started practicing safe sex no sooner than 1987. Lately I see some young guys sporting a 70s moustache and that makes me happy. In the early 80s I had a stache too, and grew it back recently in classic gay style, I love it!
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Name: KevinSF
Date posted: 7/25/2010 2:08:25 PM
Hometown: San Francisco

Comment:
Anyone notice how tan everyone was back then? The 1980s ushered in the hideous San Francisco pallor, which is still in fashion in this town. San Francisco gets a hold of an ugly trend or fashion and it stays forever. There are still punk rock people, Goth kids, hippies and yuppies, most but not all living in the past.

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