The Eagle
Address
4219 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Active Dates
2006 - Present
Irene Urias at Cruise LA, Eagle LA, Mariya Stangl, August 2017, Courtesy of Vanessa Craig.
About this location
The Eagle LA is a leather bar in a building that has housed many gay bars over the years. While the site has historically been associated with gay leather communities, it also became an important gathering place for lesbians and trans folks through events like Shotgun and Cruise LA. Larin Sullivan and Olivia Parriott started Shotgun in August 2004 as a weekly Wednesday night for dykes at Gauntlet II, the leather bar in the space before the Eagle, with cheap beer, pool, DJs, and monthly wet underwear contests. Sullivan ran it for its first two years, and in 2006 MW Wilson took it over with help from Vanessa Craig. Craig remembers Shotgun brought together artists, DJs, dancers, drag kings, trans people, and lesbians. In 2016, Craig and Pony Lee created the monthly event Cruise LA in response to what they saw as a lack of space for women and trans people within leather communities.
Categories
Sources
- Craig, Vanessa. “Vanessa Craig Oral History.” Interview by Angela Brinskele. June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, July 23, 2026. https://jmtanenbaum.github.io/route66/vanessa-craig-oral-history.html.
- Cruise Los Angeles. “About Us.” Accessed September 4, 2026. https://www.cruiselosangeles.events/about-us.
- Eagle LA. “A Proud History.” Accessed September 4, 2026. https://eaglela.com/about/.
- Queer Maps. “Eagle LA.” Accessed September 4, 2026. https://www.queermaps.org/place/eagle-sl.
- Queer Maps. “The Gauntlet II.” Accessed October 19, 2026. https://www.queermaps.org/place/gauntletii.
- Sullivan, Larin. “Shotgun @ The Gauntlet II Celebrates 1 Year.” Press release, Magnum Productions, August 2005. Larin Sullivan Collection.
- Sullivan, Larin. “Shotgun ETC – History.” Notes shared with the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, October 2026.