Text and photos by Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group
Ever since shelter-in-place orders were issued in San Francisco on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, the High Holiday of the Bruised Liver, I’ve been hitting the bars pretty hard lately.
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Yes, watering holes in the City by the Bay have been padlocked and boarded for more than 100 days now — one with Emperor Norton still visible, wishing us good health “in these trying times.” But it’s not alcoholic spirits I’ve been seeking. Instead, my motivation was to make a photographic document of San Francisco’s shuttered bars. To create a visual document for you of the time when COVID-19 caused the biggest Bar Closing since Prohibition.
It’s noble work, since San Francisco is among the American cities with the highest number of bars per capita. In the 1890s it once had more than 3,000 licensed bars, and despite temperance, temblors and the tolls of time on those Barbary Coast-era numbers, hundreds and hundreds of drinking establishments still exist in 2020 San Francisco.
Though some have reopened with takeout service and or outdoor tables, many are still closed, boarded up with plywood that often serves as a canvas for local muralists. And with San Francisco announcing on June 26 it was delaying it reopening schedule, the scene might not change for a while.
Some places visually acknowledge the pandemic, like the White Horse Tavern and Restaurant on Sutter Street, where the hobby horse out front now sports a bandana face covering.
It’s on these ghostly locales that I focused my lens. Here is my photo gallery.
A message of hope and resilience covers the facade of Dobbs Ferry bar in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, Friday, May 22, 2020, on Day 68 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The front doors of The 500 Club in San Francisco’s Mission District remain padlocked, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, on Day 73 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Laszlo bar in San Francisco’s Mission District is covered with mural-painted plywood boards, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, on Day 43 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Amado’s in San Francisco’s Mission District is protected by flowered plywood boards, Tuesday, May 8, 2020, on Day 53 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Prohibition survivor House of Shields weathers the latest challenge in downtown San Francisco, Monday, May 31, 2020, on Day 77 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Sam’s Tavern in San Francisco’s Financial District, with roots back to 1867, is boarded up Wednesday, May 27, 2020, on Day 73 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Masked pedestrians walk past the boarded-up Valencia Room (formerly the Elbo Room) in San Francisco’s Mission District, Friday, May 29, 2020, on Day 75 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The Saloon on Grant Street, said to be San Francisco’s oldest bar, built in 1861, posts a Phoenix-themed “Stay Strong” sign in its window, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, Day 100 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Li Po Cocktail Lounge, established in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1937, remains shuttered, Monday, May 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 shutdown enters Day 49. 
The Buddha Lounge in San Francisco’s Chinatown remains padlocked, Monday, May 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 enters Day 49. 
Baby blue plywood covers the doors and windows of Tommy’s Joynt on Van Ness Avenue, in San Francisco, Calif., April 2, 2020, during the third week of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
“Fight COVID-19 with kindness” says a mural on the boarded-up Locanda Osteria and Bar in San Francisco’s Mission District, May 27, 2020. 
McTeagues Saloon on San Francisco’s Polk Street is shuttered, Friday, May 9, 2020, Day 56 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Emperor Norton’s Boozeland in San Francisco’s Tenderloin remains closed, Thursday, April 9, 2020, during the COVID-19 shutdown. 
A sign at Emperor Norton’s Boozeland wishes patrons “good health in these trying times” as the bar in San Francisco’s Tenderloin remains closed, Thursday, April 9, 2020, during the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Vesuvio Cafe in San Francisco’s North Beach since 1948, is double chained, Monday, May 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 shutdown continues into its eighth week. 
Beat Generation bar Vesuvio Cafe in San Francisco’s North Beach, is chained on Monday, May 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 shutdown continues into its eighth week. 
Tracy Piper murals grace the front of Bar Crudo on San Francisco’s Divisadero Street, Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Day 56 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
A Seibot mural spices up boards on the Hayes Street Grill in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, Friday, May 22, 2020, Day 59 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The Last Drop Tavern on San Francisco’s Nob Hill offers no solace for pedestrians climbing the steep Powell Street, Friday, May 22, 2020, Day 69 of the COVID-19 shutdown. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 
Though the horse is following proper facial covering protocol, the White Horse Tavern remains closed in San Francisco, Monday, May 4, 2020, as COVID-19 shutdown continues into its eighth week. 
The Comstock Saloon windows are covered in a mosaic of historic local photos in San Francisco’s North Beach, Friday, May 22, 2020, on Day 68 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The Royal Exchange in San Francisco’s Financial District somehow manages to keep it’s plywood covers pristine, Friday, May 22, 2020, Day 69 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Shanghai Kelly’s on San Francisco’s Polk Street won’t be sending any unwilling bar patrons to sea as it remains closed, Friday, May 9, 2020, Day 55 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Artist Nicole Hayden finishes her mural on the boarded window at Moby Dick bar in San Francisco’s Castro District, Thursday, May 21, 2020, on Day 67 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
“Winners Mask Up” is the message painted on particle boards covering the Midnight Sun in San Francisco’s Castro District, Friday, May 28, 2020, Day 74 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The boards covering the Twin Peaks Taverns’ famous full-length windows get a Black Lives Matter mural painted, Sunday, June 14, 2020, in the Castro District on Day 92 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
A sign declaring “This is Not the End,” hangs from the Stud, San Francisco’s oldest gay bar, which had been in operation for 55 years, seen on Friday, May 4, 2020. Owners said they could no longer afford to pay rent while generating no income during the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The Public House outside Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, is boarded up, Saturday, June 13, 2020, Day 90 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
A macabrely-smiling coronavirus cell grins from the boards on the DNA Lounge in San Francisco’s SoMa District, Friday, May 22, 2020, Day 68 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Satirical social distancing signs warn of “Staring into the void,” and “Hopelessness is an essential activity” outside the closed DNA Lounge in San Francisco’s SoMa District, Friday, May 22, 2020, Day 68 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
A monkey swigs from a bottle of 100% UV Bleach in the coronavirus-themed artwork covering the closed Chapel in San Francisco’s Mission District, Friday, May 8, 2020, Day 52 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The Rambler Restaurant and Bars’ painted board coverings provide a psychedelic backdrop for a masked man walking in Union Square, Sunday, May 29, 2020, Day 75 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Elephant figurines above the closed Bon Voyage bar have little to trumpet in San Francisco’s Mission District, Sunday, May 27, 2020, Day 73 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
The tavern-style Keystone restaurant in San Francisco’s SoMa District is covered in murals by Mace, Sunday, June 14, 2020, Day 92 of the COVID-19 shutdown. 
Chris Granillo’s bird mural stands guard at Absinthe in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, Friday, May 22, 2020, on Day 68 of the COVID-19 shutdown.
