Most of the buildings on that stretch of Pacific Street were destroyed by the earthquake and fire of 1906 . However the city 's financial boosters then saw an opportunity to clean up the tone of the Barbary Coast , and transform it into an entertainment area which would be acceptable for every-day San Franciscans . Possessing a new sense of civic pride , the boosters invested heavily in reconstruction and within three months over a dozen dance halls and a dozen bars were rebuilt and operating . This new incarnation of Pacific Street would be gentrified and tame compared to the lawless pre-earthquake version of the Barbary Coast . However prostitution still persisted in the district and it was not until 1917 that Mayor James Rudolf made a declaration that he would close every brothel in San Francisco . Same-sex Prostitution and entertainment which featured female impersonators briefly existed in a bar on the Barbary Coast as early as the spring of 1908 when '' The Dash '' opened on Pacific Street . The Dash employed some female impersonators , and patrons could purchase homosexual sex in its booths . The Dash closed near the end of that same year
earthquake and fire of 1906
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Barbary Coast, San Francisco