Mona's 440 Club was the first

lesbian bar A lesbian bar (sometimes called a "women's bar") is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from that of the gay bar. Significance Les ...

to open in

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in 1936. It continued to draw a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

clientele into the 1950s. Mona's and the gay bars of that era were an important part of the history of

LGBT culture in San Francisco LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

Mona's

Union Street, Columbus Avenue

Mona and Jimmie Sargeant, a married couple, opened Mona's in 1934 on

Union Street Union Street may refer to: United Kingdom *Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland * Union Street, East Sussex, between Ticehurst and Flimwell *Union Street, London * Union Street, Plymouth, Devon * Union Street, Reading, Berkshire United States *Un ...

, taking advantage of San Francisco's liberal attitude, endless supply of tourists, and the end of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. In 1936, the couple moved the bar to a basement location on Columbus Avenue in North Beach. Originally, the couple imagined the club as a

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

hangout for writers and artists. They covered the floors with sawdust to help create the "bohemian" atmosphere. Gladys Bentley 2

Over the time, the vision of the club changed. The couple hired singing waitresses, and some of the female waitresses dressed in male drag. The bar became modeled after other successful female impersonation or drag clubs like Finnochio's. In 1936, the San Francisco Chronicle published a "Cocktailing, Dancing, and Dining." In the guide, Mona's was described as a "bohemian" club, which was a coded way of describing it as sexually unconventional. The bar became the first openly lesbian club that was geared towards the local gay community as opposed to gay tourists. Mona's marketed itself as a place "where girls can be boys" and featured female wait staff and entertainers dressed in tuxedos.

440 Broadway

Due to its popularity and growth in patronage, the bar moved to 440 Broadway Street in North Beach and was subsequently renamed Mona's 440 Club. The new space quickly became popular with both straight and gay patrons, including straight women looking to relax and unwind and tourists looking for a show. Mona's 440 Club was considered to be a part of the San Francisco

sex tourism Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

culture, however the bar stuck to cross-dressing in order to remain lawful. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the bar attracted women that were left at home who were looking for entertainment and the company of other women, friendly and romantic. In its later days, the bar also attracted servicemen on leave. In 1941, Mona relinquished control of the club to new manager, Babe Scott. Babe Scott was known as "the woman who plays baseball like a veteran." Scott's legacy was the performers she brought to the club.

Entertainment

One of the biggest draws to Mona's was their large variety of in house entertainment. Kay Scott and Babe Scott were part of the original group of entertainers to perform at Mona's 440 Club and due to their performances they became local

celebrities. The popularity of the performers drew in others who also wanted some of the same recognition. After taking control of the bar Babe Scott booked performers such as Tina Rubio,

Gladys Bentley Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 – January 18, 1960) was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House, a well-known gay speake ...

Frances Faye Frances Faye (November 4, 1912 – November 8, 1991) was an American cabaret and show tune singer and pianist. Born to a working-class Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, she was a second cousin of Danny Kaye. Career Born as Frances Cohe ...

, Midge Williams,

Moms Mabley Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1897 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the ...

and Beverly Shaw, the latter of whom became one of the club's headlining acts before moving to the Chi Chi Club across the street. Bentley remained one of Mona's most long running and popular residents due to her talent. She was a key part of Mona's culture with her

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

performance, as well as her ability to fit in with the growing popularity of sex and race tourism post prohibition. Bentley was recognized for her performances wearing a tuxedo and top hat. Eventually, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to continue her career.

Legacy

Since its launch Mona's became one of the most popular lesbian bars in the United States and its popularity helped pave the way for more lesbian bars to open in the same neighborhood, making it a "well-known lesbian enclave".

Ann's 440 Club

Once Mona sold the club, entertainer Ann Dee (Angela Maria DeSpirito, 1919–2005), took over Mona's 440 Club in the mid 1950s and completely changed the direction of the club — starting with a new name, Ann's 440 Club. While the club still employed lesbian waitstaff and had lesbian clientele, its main focus was no longer on the queer culture and woman empowerment, but more focused on entertainment. Ann Dee wanted a place to be able to showcase her talents when she so desired and booked performers that fit her preferences. While under Ann Dee's ownership, the club gave

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

his start.

References

{{reflist 1936 establishments in California 1950s disestablishments in California 1930s in California 1940s in California Event venues established in 1936 Defunct lesbian bars in San Francisco Music venues in San Francisco Nightclubs in San Francisco North Beach, San Francisco Defunct LGBTQ nightclubs in California