Peggy Tolk-Watkins was among the notable LGBTQ+ Sausalitans profiled by local historian Joel Karr in a special presentation inside the Sausalito Library on Sunday, June 16.
A self-taught artist whose works were displayed at the de Young Museum, Tolk-Watkins owned and operated Sausalito’s first gay bar, the Tin Angel, from the late 1940s to the early 1950s at a waterfront location currently occupied by Scoma’s Restaurant.
Named for an angel that hung outside the building, the Tin Angel quickly became a nexus for Sausalito’s bohemian set, with a brightly-colored interior and live jazz and folk music.
After Tolk-Watkins sold the business in 1953, the waterfront bar became the Glad Hand, another gay-friendly hangout. In 1954, Tolk-Watkins opened a new Tin Angel on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, followed by the Fallen Angel on Pine Street. She died in 1973 at the age of 51.
“Sausalito’s Surprising and Amazing Gay History” at the Sausalito Library will kick-off the week of events that make up Sausalito’s second annual Sausalito Pride celebrations. A complete schedule of events can be found on the Sausalito Pride website.
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