Leather-themed public park planned for San Francisco

There are plans for San Francisco to honour its leather community by creating a unique plaza in the city’s gay neighbourhood.

The public park is being proposed by developers who aim to convert a block sized space in San Francisco’s South of Market area (SOMA) into what is being called Eagle Plaza.

According to The Bay Area Reporter, the leather-themed public plaza would incorporate “design elements celebrating SOMA’s ties to both the LGBT and leather communities.”

Initial designs include using the leather flag colours of blue, black, white and red in the plaza’s paving.

The area has long been home to a number of leather gay bars and clubs, including the historic Eagle Bar, and has been designated part of an LGBTQ cultural heritage district.

“There is a lack of public space like this in this area. It is very much needed,” said Eagle co-owner Alex Montiel. “Something like this is very much needed for anybody who lives around here. There are no parks nearby.”

The development’s website envisions the plaza as “a social space focused on active play, social engagement, and urban sanctuaries.”

The site adds: “The conceptual vision for the plaza is a public gathering space for the neighbourhood, a green respite from the city, a place to host special community events, and a way to commemorate the unique LGBTQ history of the surrounding… area.”

The park could include trees, seating areas, benches, food truck areas and an outdoor gym space.

“This would provide an active hub for the LGBTQ community and added green space for the immediate neighbourhood,” Hannah Smith, a project manager who’s been working on the plaza project for UP Urban Design, told The Bay Area Reporter.