The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along the Ringold Street alley, at 8th Street, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's SOMA district honoring

leather culture Leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. Wearing leather garments is one way that par ...

; it opened in 2017.Ringold Alley ''Leather Memoir''
/ref>

Artworks

Collectively titled ''Leather Memoir'', the artworks, mainly created by landscape architect Jeffrey Miller, are: * A black granite stone etched with a narrative by

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949 in South Carolina) is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitut ...

, an image of the "Leather

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

" statue by Mike Caffee, and a reproduction of

Chuck Arnett Charles "Chuck" Arnett (February 15, 1928 in Bogalusa, Louisiana – March 2, 1988 in San Francisco, California) was an American artist and dancer. His best known work is the Tool Box mural (1962). History Arnett grew up in Bogalusa and New Or ...

’s 1962 mural that was in the Tool Box (a gay leather bar), * Engraved standing stones that honor community leather institutions including the

Folsom Street Fair Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair, held in September, that caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes simply referred to as "Folsom", takes place on Folsom Street bet ...

, *

Leather pride flag The leather pride flag is a symbol used by the leather subculture since the 1990s. It was designed by Tony DeBlase, and was quickly embraced by the gay leather community. It has since become associated with leather in general and also with rela ...

pavement markings through which the stones emerge, and * Bronze bootprints along the curb honoring 28 individuals who were an important part of local leather communities: ** Jim Kane (community leader and biker) **

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...

** Steve McEachern (owner of the

Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

, a gay and lesbian S/M fisting club that was the most famous fisting club in the world

, "The Catacombs: A Triumph of the Butthole", in ''Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice'', Alyson Press, 1992, , pp. 119-141; reprinted in ''Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader'', Duke University Press, 2011, , , retrieved September 30, 2014.) **

Cynthia Slater Cynthia Slater (1945–1989) was the cofounder of the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society), a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group known as the Society of Janus, which ...

(a founder of the

Society of Janus The Society of Janus is the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society) and is a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group. The Society of Janus is nonprofit, volunteer run and is ...

) ** Tony Tavarossi (manager of the Why Not) **

** Jack Haines (Fe-Be's and The Slot owner) ** Alexis Muir (an owner of South of Market bars and baths, including The Stud) **

Sam Steward Sam Steward (born 1906) was a British boxer who was British lightweight champion between 1928 and 1929. Career Born in Lewisham, London, Sam Steward made his professional boxing debut in January 1922 with a decision over Rube Painter. After win ...

** Terry Thompson ( SF Eagle manager) ** Philip M. Turner (founder of Daddy's Bar) ** Hank Diethelm (The Brig owner) ** Kerry Brown, Ken Ferguson, and David Delay (Ambush co-owners) ** Alan Selby (founder of the store Mr. S Leather and known as the "Mayor of

Folsom Street Folsom Street is a street in San Francisco which begins perpendicular to Alemany Boulevard in San Francisco's Bernal Heights district and ends perpendicular to the Embarcadero on the San Francisco Bay. For its southern half, Folsom Street runs no ...

") ** Peter Hartman (owner of 544 Natoma art gallery and theater) **

Robert Opel Robert Opel (born Robert Oppel, October 23, 1939 – July 7, 1979) was an American photographer and art gallery owner most famous as the man who streaked during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. Biography Opel was born in East Orange, New Jerse ...

Tony DeBlase Tony DeBlase (1942 - 2000) also known as Anthony DeBlase, was part of the BDSM and leather subcultures. He was the designer of the leather pride flag. Leather and BDSM activities In 1979, he founded ''DungeonMaster'' magazine (about sadomasochisti ...

(creator of the

leather pride flag The leather pride flag is a symbol used by the leather subculture since the 1990s. It was designed by Tony DeBlase, and was quickly embraced by the gay leather community. It has since become associated with leather in general and also with rela ...

) ** Marcus Hernandez (''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' leather columnist) ** John Embry (founder and publisher of ''Drummer'' magazine) ** Geoff Mains (author of ''Urban Aboriginals)'' ** Mark Thompson (author and cofounder of Black Leather Wings) **

Thom Gunn Thomson William "Thom" Gunn (29 August 1929 – 25 April 2004) was an English poet who was praised for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement, and his later poetry in America, even after moving towards a looser, ...

** Paul Mariah (poet, printer and activist) ** Robert Davolt (author and organizer of the San Francisco Pride leather contingent, and editor of '' Bound & Gagged'') ** Jim Meko (printer and South of Market activist) ** Alexis Sorel (co-founder of The 15 and member of Black Leather Wings) ** Bert Herman (author and publisher, leader of

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

community) ** T. Michael "Lurch" Sutton (biker and co-founder of the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

of SF)

References

External list

Ringold Alley
Miller Company Landscape Architects
Black Leather Wings
{{South of Market, San Francisco Leather subculture LGBT art in the United States Leather History Alley