Today, SoMa is widely known as ground zero for the technology industry and luxury housing. Not long ago, however, SoMa was a primarily working-class neighborhood—and home to much of the city's leather community.

For about thirty years beginning in the 1970s, leather bars, sex clubs and accessory shops that catered to the leather lifestyle thrived. Today, only a handful of those businesses remain. Many of the gay men who once partied on SoMa's streets are long gone; some were priced out and left the Bay Area, while many others were lost to AIDS.

At 3pm every Saturday and Sunday from November 12th-December 4th, local choreographer and dancer Joe Landini will take audiences on a guided tour, using spoken word, music and dance to share SoMa's forgotten leather and LGBTQ history.

The piece, titled 'SOMA: Now and Then' is a collaboration between Landini and choreographer Amy Lewis. Landini runs SAFEhouse Arts—Saving Arts From Extinction, a Mid-Market based nonprofit that produces performances and offers residencies and workshops to performing artists. Lewis, who runs the dance company Push Up Something Hidden, brings a background in theater and dance, as well as a keen interest in preserving history.

"I like to uncover stories and topics that no one talks about," Lewis said. "This is one of two walking tour pieces I've done about displacement and disparity. I like to address underground and hidden topics  because I feel that talking about these things shifts the perspective of the viewer and this brings about change."

Their weekly live performances begin at The Eagle, the grandaddy of leather bars. Landini will share stories about the Eagle and the people who've patronized it over the years. He'll then lead audiences to spots throughout the neighborhood that housed iconic leather-oriented businesses, a few of which remain today. Many, however, are gone and nearly forgotten.

Landini's modern dance will also address the shift the neighborhood has undergone in recent years.

"The tech companies and the landlords are to blame," Lewis said of the neighborhood's evolution. "People think they can make a lot of money and lose sight of the bigger picture—though the performance doesn't deal with that. We're not pointing fingers. Development has been going on for a long time—if it weren't tech, it would be something else." 

"The city has changed with each generation," Landini added. "Tech has sped things up."

While Landini isn't a member of the local leather community, he's no stranger to the scene. "I knew a lot of leathermen, and I went to the bars," he said. "But I was more of an observer—there was a very large culture that existed up and down Folsom. In the 70s there were bathhouses, in the 80s there were sex clubs."

Both artists pointed out that SoMa and its leather and LGBTQ communities aren't the only communities impacted by the city's evolution. "The Fillmore was devastated. It never came back," Landini said. "Folsom will never happen again."

Landini hopes that a cultural historical district will be imposed next to The Eagle so the area's history can be preserved on a more permanent basis. Efforts to implement an LGBTQ cultural heritage district in Western SoMa are expected to resume early next year, after nearly seven years of delay. Landini says one idea for the heritage district is creating a small park where plaques can be displayed.

"Cities are evolving at an alarming rate. Whole communities are disappearing," he said. "There are oral histories which are not being saved—we want all that culture to be preserved. We want to focus on smaller stories because that makes it easier to focus on the bigger picture."

To learn about SoMa's leather and LGBTQ history, join Landini and Lewis in front of the Eagle Tavern (398 12 St.) at 3pm every Saturday and Sunday through December 4th (except November 26th-27th). Audiences will be directed to a website they can access on their phones to hear the music and narration, which accompanies the performance. SOMA: Now And Then is recommended for adults age 18 and over.

Tickets cost $20 each, and can be purchased by clicking below or calling 800-838-3996.