| Tin Angel On-The-Levee | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of Tin Angel On-The-Levee | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Previous owner(s) | Peggy Tolk–Watkins (1953 to 1958), Kid Ory (1958 to 1961) |
| Location | 981 Embarcadero, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37°48′11″N122°24′06″W / 37.803175°N 122.401589°W |
| Active dates | 1953–July 1961 |
The Tin Angel was a lesbian nightclub, live music venue, and restaurant in operation from 1953 to 1961, on the Embarcadero at 981 Embarcadero (near Pier 23) in San Francisco, California [1] The venue and its founder were credited as "spearheading the 'Jazz on the Waterfront' movement" in the 1950s. [2] In 1958, the club ownership changed and it was renamed On-The-Levee, before its closure in July 1961.
In 1950, self-taught painter Peggy Tolk–Watkins moved to the Bay Area, and opened the first Tin Angel on Sausalito's waterfront, at 588 Bridgeway Boulevard from 1948 to July 1951. [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] She got the building, a crab restaurant, from Matt Lange, who had housed his launch business there for twenty-nine years. [7] In 1952, she sold the business and spent a year traveling in Europe with her son, Ragland. [7] Since 1969, the property has been a Scoma's Restaurant. [7]
The Embarcadero venue was managed by Tolk–Watkins, who worked in co-ownership with bordello owner and later-Sausalito-mayor, Sally Stanford. [8] [9]
In 1958, Kid Ory purchased the nightclub from Peggy Tolk–Watkins, and renamed it On-The-Levee. [10] [11] The venue closed in July 1961, and in 1962 the building was demolished due to the creation of the Embarcadero Freeway. [10]
Folk singer Odetta got her start performing at the Tin Angel in San Francisco. [1] [12] A short while later Odetta joined the duo of Odetta and Larry and they performed at the Tin Angel for about 8 months. The Odetta and Larry duo released a self-titled album on Fantasy Records, recorded in 1953 and 1954 at the Tin Angel. [13] Other performers at Tin Angel included Bob Scobey, Turk Murphy, Kid Ory, Muggsy Spanier, George Lewis, Bob Mielke, Claire Austin, and Lizzie Miles with Wally Rose. [10]
In 1954 Tolk–Watkins partnered with Sally Stanford to open the Fallen Angel at 1144 Pine Street in San Francisco, a former brothel site of Sally's. [7]
Tolk–Watkins was referred to as "queen of the dykes", [14] and Tin Angel was considered a lesbian nightclub. [15]
The album cover for Turk Murphy's When The Saints Go Marching In (1954) features an image of the interior of the club. [10]
In total, a collection of San Francisco LGBT venues opened and flourished in the early 1950s, including the Tin Angel, Paper Doll Club, The Beige Room, Tommy's Place/12 Adler Place, Miss Smith’s Tea Room, Dolan's, and Gordon's. [8] In 1954, Tolk–Watkins opened another venue in San Francisco named, The Fallen Angel at 1144 Pine Street, the building was formerly the Sally Stanford bordello. [3] [16] In June 1958, Tolk–Watkins sold the Tin Angel club to Kid Ory, and it was renamed On-The-Levee. [10] [17] The bar closed in July 1961, and was demolished in 1962 because of the creation of the Embarcadero Freeway. [10]
It was featured in the Kim Anno art exhibition "Lost and Found: A Museum of Lesbian Memory, Part 1" (2000) shown at "The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society of Northern California," and at the San Francisco Public Library. [18]
The Tin Angel attracted a fairly sporty crowd, including one local manager of available young ladies: he carried one on each arm whenever he went out in public.