The Eagle

The Eagle started out as a longshoremen's pub, the Eagle Open Kitchen, at 142 11th Avenue at 21st Street, from 1931 to 1970¹. That year Jack Modica bought it, and it became a leather and Levi's bar^{1, 2}. It went on to inspire a loose, worldwide network of gay bars sharing the Eagle name².

Landlords weren't renewing old leases, and by 2000 Modica chose to retire rather than reopen the Eagle elsewhere¹. Its closing party at 142 11th Avenue ran from March 3 to 5, 2000¹. Friends of his bought the business from him, original fixtures included, to keep some continuity³.

On October 5, 2001 the Eagle reopened at 554 W. 28th St., in a two-story building that started out as a horse stable in the late 19th century¹. The roof deck opened in 2002¹. Our listing added a Sunday afternoon barbecue.

By 2016 West Side Spirit counted it among the last leather bars left in Chelsea, though co-owner Derek Danton said that, whatever the reputation, guys just come to be themselves⁴. In 2025 Chelsea Community News profiled Zephyr Mekur, the first transmasculine Mr. Eagle NYC⁵. It's still at 554 West 28th Street, where the contest weekend for Mr. Eagle NYC 2027 was set to begin on October 2, 2026^{6, 7}.