Glossary
Eagle, The
The Eagle is a widely used name for gay leather and Levi bars, first adopted by the Eagle's Nest in New York City in 1970 and later copied by independent bars in cities across the U.S. and abroad.
The Eagle is a name shared by dozens of gay leather and Levi bars around the world. The original was the Eagle's Nest, opened in 1970 in a former longshoreman's pub on Manhattan's far west side after owner Jack Modica turned it into a leather bar. Its emblem borrowed the eagle of the U.S. Great Seal and marked out a masculine, sexually open space for the growing leather and Levi community. Patrons who moved to other cities carried the idea with them, inspiring separate Eagle bars in San Francisco, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, and beyond. These are independent businesses, not a franchise, and many host leather contests, club nights, and community fundraisers.