Website in development! Check back 7/25
Website in development! Check back 7/25
The Sea Colony
The Lexington Club (San Francisco) 1997 - 2015
Though I had already left San Francisco by the time it opened, I always made a point to visit The Lexington Club when I was back in town. It felt different from the bars I recreated from earlier eras—at the Lex, people wanted to be seen. While patrons of earlier lesbian bars often had to hide their presence, the Lex existed in a moment of visibility, pride, and self-expression. It was a place where gender felt as expansive as San Francisco itself.
Founded by Lila Thirkield in 1997, The Lexington Club quickly became an anchor for queer women, trans, and nonbinary folks in the Mission District. For its recreation in L-BAR, I invited photographer Chloe Sherman, who documented the Lex’s vibrant scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s, to include her work. I also asked queer film historian and curator Jenni Olson to select and frame additional materials that would deepen the storytelling inside the space.
Visitors could sit once again inside The Lexington’s virtual bar, surrounded by photos, energy, and memory—and listen to Lila herself reflect on its founding, its evolution, and the political urgency of queer space. Like the Lex itself, this room in L-BAR celebrated presence, identity, and chosen community at a time when those things felt defiantly visible.
The Sea Colony
The Lexington Club (San Francisco) 1997 - 2015
Though I had already left San Francisco by the time it opened, I always made a point to visit The Lexington Club when I was back in town. It felt different from the bars I recreated from earlier eras—at the Lex, people wanted to be seen. While patrons of earlier lesbian bars often had to hide their presence, the Lex existed in a moment of visibility, pride, and self-expression. It was a place where gender felt as expansive as San Francisco itself.
Founded by Lila Thirkield in 1997, The Lexington Club quickly became an anchor for queer women, trans, and nonbinary folks in the Mission District. For its recreation in L-BAR, I invited photographer Chloe Sherman, who documented the Lex’s vibrant scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s, to include her work. I also asked queer film historian and curator Jenni Olson to select and frame additional materials that would deepen the storytelling inside the space.
Visitors could sit once again inside The Lexington’s virtual bar, surrounded by photos, energy, and memory—and listen to Lila herself reflect on its founding, its evolution, and the political urgency of queer space. Like the Lex itself, this room in L-BAR celebrated presence, identity, and chosen community at a time when those things felt defiantly visible.
Lexington Club
The Lexington Club (San Francisco) 1997 - 2015
Though I had already left San Francisco by the time it opened, I always made a point to visit The Lexington Club when I was back in town. It felt different from the bars I recreated from earlier eras—at the Lex, people wanted to be seen. While patrons of earlier lesbian bars often had to hide their presence, the Lex existed in a moment of visibility, pride, and self-expression. It was a place where gender felt as expansive as San Francisco itself.
Founded by Lila Thirkield in 1997, The Lexington Club quickly became an anchor for queer women, trans, and nonbinary folks in the Mission District. For its recreation in L-BAR, I invited photographer Chloe Sherman, who documented the Lex’s vibrant scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s, to include her work. I also asked queer film historian and curator Jenni Olson to select and frame additional materials that would deepen the storytelling inside the space.
Visitors could sit once again inside The Lexington’s virtual bar, surrounded by photos, energy, and memory—and listen to Lila herself reflect on its founding, its evolution, and the political urgency of queer space. Like the Lex itself, this room in L-BAR celebrated presence, identity, and chosen community at a time when those things felt defiantly visible.