26 Dead (Or Dying) Gay Bars in NYC, L.A., S.F.

Cities around the country, and globe, have seen many of their most beloved gay and lesbian watering holes close down — often after the area's queer population disperses or the owner simply gets priced out. While many of these bars and clubs were a bit rough around the edges, they nonetheless served as de facto community centers, offering a kind of glue that kept our disparate minority together. In this first entry of an occasional series, we'll pay honor to dearly departed LGBT establishments that recently shut their doors in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Stay tuned for more "in memoriams" in other cities.