The owners of a property in North Beach that once housed several LGBT restaurants, the first of which was known as the Paper Doll, are seeking city landmark status for the site.
Should their request for 524 Union Street be approved later this year, it would be the first landmark in the country to focus on an early queer restaurant, according to a local preservationist assisting with the application process. The Paper Doll is believed to be San Francisco’s first restaurant and nightclub catering to the gay community.
The building would be the fourth property in the city to be designated a landmark for its LGBT historical significance and the first located outside of the gay Castro district. The last site to be added, in 2013, was the gay bar Twin Peaks (401 Castro Street), famous for being the first gay bar in the city to have clear glass windows at a time when people could be fired based on their sexual orientation.