Dead (and Dying) Gay Bars across America

[+ Lucky]

There are so many, and so many bring back memories of good times had.

https://www.advocate.com/small-business/2018/7/03/43-dead-or-dying-gay-bars-united-states#media-gallery-media-2

[caliguy]

I hadn't even realized so many had closed down over the last 10 years. Club Cobra is just down the road from me. Used to be the Rawhide.

 

Rising rent and of coarse the Pandemic putting the final nail in the coffin.

 

[maninsoma]

When I moved to San Francisco in the mid 1980s, both the Castro and "Polk Strasse" neighborhoods had a lot of gay bars. I'm not sure when most of the gay bars in the Polk area closed, but even pre-pandemic there was only one left (The Cinch). Back when I lived in the neighborhood we had The Giraffe (video bar with lots of cute guys), QT (I think some considered this a hustler bar but I went because they frequently had great live music), N Touch (seemed to be focused on Asian and White men looking for each other), Polk Gulch, White Swallow, Rendezvous and I'm sure many more I've forgotten. Not that other neighborhoods in San Francisco haven't lost gay bars, but basically the Polk transitioned from a largely gay district to one with no distinct identity.

 

Edit: I just remembered another one on Polk -- Kimo's. If I'm not mistaken, this one had frequent drag shows.

Edited September 4, 2020 by maninsoma

[Stormy]

When I moved to San Francisco in the mid 1980s, both the Castro and "Polk Strasse" neighborhoods had a lot of gay bars. I'm not sure when most of the gay bars in the Polk area closed, but even pre-pandemic there was only one left (The Cinch). Back when I lived in the neighborhood we had The Giraffe (video bar with lots of cute guys), QT (I think some considered this a hustler bar but I went because they frequently had great live music), N Touch (seemed to be focused on Asian and White men looking for each other), Polk Gulch, White Swallow, Rendezvous and I'm sure many more I've forgotten. Not that other neighborhoods in San Francisco haven't lost gay bars, but basically the Polk transitioned from a largely gay district to one with no distinct identity.

I loved the old Polk Street. Nothing better than the sleaze poring out of those bars.

[Luv2play]

I loved the old Polk Street. Nothing better than the sleaze poring out of those bars.

Sleeze maybe???

[marylander1940]

Hit by rising commercial rents in many big cities LGBT bars are facing an additional competition from dating apps (Grindr and Scruff) that have eliminated the need to meet first in bars or pubs. Gay men have been quick to adopt the new technology.

 

Maybe old selfies, retouched, fake, professional misleading pictures and endless texting might bring some gay men back to bars.

 

I loved the old Polk Street. Nothing better than the sleaze poring out of those bars.

 

Unfortunately because of high rents and endless regulations (pointed by @bigjoey on another threads) so many stores in SF are empty... Polk St now is a great example!

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I've always found it strange that so many gay bars look like windowless shacks. They're relics from the days of us needing to hide out, I suppose.

 

Gay clubs aren't really 'gay' anymore thanks to social acclimation, bachelorette parties and RuPaul having made drag a very normal, TV-friendly thing.

 

Decades ago we fought hard for this and now we have it. We're just like everyone else.

[RealAvalon]

I've always found it strange that so many gay bars look like windowless shacks. They're relics from the days of us needing to hide out, I suppose.

 

Gay clubs aren't really 'gay' anymore thanks to social acclimation, bachelorette parties and RuPaul having made drag a very normal, TV-friendly thing.

 

Decades ago we fought hard for this and now we have it. We're just like everyone else.

Some of us are, some of us aren't. But I have a whole theory on how gay oppression has a uniqueness from other forms of oppression, racism, misogyny, classism. We can be everywhere.

[Wolfer]

Sad to see some bars closing where I had a good time. I don't understand what long term strategy these landlords have who are forcing those businesses to close... Wouldn't it be more financially beneficial to still have the property occupied by a business ready to open than have a building that currently has no tenant and, given the expected shrinking of the economy, might not find another tenant that easily.

[marylander1940]

I've always found it strange that so many gay bars look like windowless shacks. They're relics from the days of us needing to hide out, I suppose.

 

Gay clubs aren't really 'gay' anymore thanks to social acclimation, bachelorette parties and RuPaul having made drag a very normal, TV-friendly thing.

 

Decades ago we fought hard for this and now we have it. We're just like everyone else.

 

Great observation!

 

Here's an unusual exception that's also an effective as a marketing tool.

 

width=710pxhttps://gaycities-listing-images-production.imgix.net/originals/bars-10--a45d8.jpg?w=566&h=566&fit=crop&auto=format&auto=compress&crop=faces[/img]

 

width=881pxhttps://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0f/fe/c8/21/june-2017.jpg[/img]

Edited September 4, 2020 by marylander1940

[+ Axiom2001]

When I moved to San Francisco in the mid 1980s, both the Castro and "Polk Strasse" neighborhoods had a lot of gay bars. I'm not sure when most of the gay bars in the Polk area closed, but even pre-pandemic there was only one left (The Cinch). Back when I lived in the neighborhood we had The Giraffe (video bar with lots of cute guys), QT (I think some considered this a hustler bar but I went because they frequently had great live music), N Touch (seemed to be focused on Asian and White men looking for each other), Polk Gulch, White Swallow, Rendezvous and I'm sure many more I've forgotten. Not that other neighborhoods in San Francisco haven't lost gay bars, but basically the Polk transitioned from a largely gay district to one with no distinct identity.

 

Edit: I just remembered another one on Polk -- Kimo's. If I'm not mistaken, this one had frequent drag shows.

 

I do very fondly remember the gay bars that were in San Francisco. ...danced my "ass off" as well as hook up for many a year prior to HIV/AIDS. ...can't remember if I went to any during those decades when the virus was 'off the chart' but only remember and reflect on those days, '60s, 70s, and early 80s when my going to them, alone or with friends was a weekend ritual.

 

After Polk Street changed so drastically, I'd go to the Castro, but to this day didn't particularly like the vibes that emanated from many of its gay bars. There was one after hours club on upper Market that I did like. In fact, it's the club where I came out to my friends, and I guess to myself. For the longest I had difficlty accepting my gayness/homosexuality, but I have very fond memories of that particular venue.

 

Yes, the times have a changed. Most of our gay bars have left our towns and cities. Here in Monterey, CA, The After Dark was my go-to-place on weekends before it was sold. To date- there are no gay venues at all in this town. Guess folks use the net and their cell phones and apps for some connectivity.

[+ jessmapex]

Flaming Saddles in WeHo permanently closed too: See news

[Noah]

Anyone remember a club night called Detention in NYC probably around 2000s. Had a great young feel and shag carpet the walls.

[jeezifonly]

We, the Gays, have gained a LOT of security in our rights as citizens since most of the bars opened. All singles, gay and straight, have more ways to meet potential whatevers than ever. But all business models that rely on a physical space to make their money are getting crushed right now. Few will survive or come back.

Bottom line is that we still have the right to marry and be treated equally (almost) everywhere. The price for that is some losses of local establishments that once anchored a community that had no real options for meeting the like-minded without fear. Sad to see them go as part of rapidly changing urban landscape, and we can honor the hospitality and community support they provided when it was needed most. I raise a glass at home to former bar-backs and tenders everywhere!!

[+ Charlie]

The change in the attitude of the general society and the relaxing of laws against homosexual activity have a lot to do with the loss of a need for exclusive refuges, but the other side of the equation is the change in the demographics of the gay population. The generations that provided the clientele for the bars, young and middle-aged Boomers and pre-Boomers, are dying off or have aged out of the kind of cruising for sex that the bars were designed to facilitate. Local bars can't survive financially on a small number of older men who just drop in during the evening for a few drinks and some nostalgic socializing. Bars have a better chance of hanging on if they are located in tourist destinations, where there is more likely to be a mix of strangers of all ages.

[+ LIguy]

15 years ago here on Long Island we had 8 gay bars not counting the ones on Fire Island. Now there's one and it's struggling.

[Monarchy79]

 

Decades ago we fought hard for this and now we have it. We're just like everyone else.

 

Facts!!!

 

And this definitely falls under the category of “be careful what you ask for”.

 

We wanted the rights of straights, but I’m sure many are thinking twice of wanting their way of life.... lol...

 

The underground, gay clubs of the past were tons of fun, and the fact that my only current form of social American entertainment (prior to COVID-19) is a good brunch, makes me laugh and frown at the same time.

 

As cities “Improve”, they lose their sleaze, but they also lose that grit and authenticity that made urban nightlife so much fun (both straight and gay nightclubs)

 

I’m glad I partied when I did... I never thought it would actually come to a literal END. ?

[+ purplekow]

I've always found it strange that so many gay bars look like windowless shacks. They're relics from the days of us needing to hide out, I suppose.

 

Gay clubs aren't really 'gay' anymore thanks to social acclimation, bachelorette parties and RuPaul having made drag a very normal, TV-friendly thing.

 

Decades ago we fought hard for this and now we have it. We're just like everyone else.

You know very well that it is great to be like everyone else but it is better to be an individual.

it is more fun to be a member of group which is just like everyone else but with extra flare. If you have flare, you need a place where it can be shown with best appreciation. The gay bar was that stage.

And now, the end is near, and we must face the final curtain. My friends I'll say it clear and face the fate of which I'm certain, The bars are gone but not forgot though they are shells along the highway. But more, much more than this, the bars were my Gay.

[+ Hoover42]

When I moved to San Francisco in the mid 1980s, both the Castro and "Polk Strasse" neighborhoods had a lot of gay bars. I'm not sure when most of the gay bars in the Polk area closed, but even pre-pandemic there was only one left (The Cinch). Back when I lived in the neighborhood we had The Giraffe (video bar with lots of cute guys), QT (I think some considered this a hustler bar but I went because they frequently had great live music), N Touch (seemed to be focused on Asian and White men looking for each other), Polk Gulch, White Swallow, Rendezvous and I'm sure many more I've forgotten. Not that other neighborhoods in San Francisco haven't lost gay bars, but basically the Polk transitioned from a largely gay district to one with no distinct identity.

 

Edit: I just remembered another one on Polk -- Kimo's. If I'm not mistaken, this one had frequent drag shows.

I got a hotel room on Polk street during that era just to be able hang around the street trade for a week.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Hoover42

[jeezifonly]

Facts!!!

 

And this definitely falls under the category of “be careful what you ask for”.

 

We wanted the rights of straights, but I’m sure many are thinking twice of wanting their way of life.... lol...

 

The underground, gay clubs of the past were tons of fun, and the fact that my only current form of social American entertainment (prior to COVID-19) is a good brunch, makes me laugh and frown at the same time.

 

As cities “Improve”, they lose their sleaze, but they also lose that grit and authenticity that made urban nightlife so much fun (both straight and gay nightclubs)

 

I’m glad I partied when I did... I never thought it would actually come to a literal END. ?

I’m among the (more than a) few of us who expected that WE would be gone before the bars...

 

If you take current standards of connection and translate it into the old cruise bar format, you’d have to pay a membership fee, check your pants at the door, walk around the pool table with your bits to the wind and have an LED to clip on to your beer bottle for fill light. At least lying about your age and your job hasn’t changed! (And back then NOBODY lived in his mother’s basement...)

Edited September 4, 2020 by jeezifonly

[thickornotatall]

My friends and I went to bars when in high school..I remember walking in the back door and trying to be cool..like I belonged there..Too many times to count be asked to leave....The bars on Washington St were rough (or so I thought)..leather bars..back room bars...and Julius on W 10th and W 4th St in The Village..By the time I was legal we were going to private after hours clubs....I stopped going to bars in my mid 30's and settled down..sort of...

[nate_sf]

I'm optimistic that something will rise from the ashes, but I'm not sure what. But being here in the Bay Area since the 80s, I've seen a few downturns where everything went to shit, but then came the slow recovery years and those were the most interesting. The 90s were great, but also those were also my prime young adult years so maybe I'm not entirely objective.

 

Once commercial rents drop, people can experiment with new business concepts, and if rents are reasonable enough they have that flexibility at least for a while. Then the economy starts perking up again, rents rise, gentrification sets in and things get fancier but less funky. Unfortunately it will get worse before it gets better as more and more businesses fail from the pandemic, but for better or for worse that will create opportunities for others down the road. Maybe not bars like we've know them, but hopefully something fun and interesting.

[muscmtl]

Grindr Scruff bbrt started it and covid is going to finish it. Most cities don't have a single lesbian bar/ disco left, it was a matter of time before the same happened to us

[+ Charlie]

My friends and I went to bars when in high school..I remember walking in the back door and trying to be cool..like I belonged there..Too many times to count be asked to leave....The bars on Washington St were rough (or so I thought)..leather bars..back room bars...and Julius on W 10th and W 4th St in The Village..By the time I was legal we were going to private after hours clubs....I stopped going to bars in my mid 30's and settled down..sort of...

I went to the bars in the Village when I was 18, because that was the legal drinking age in NY in those days. I liked the dance bars, like the Fawn and the Cherry Lane. I became friendly there with a cute little chorus boy, who took me home to meet his parents in the Bronx, where I was shocked to discover that he was 37.

[Buff Daddy]

Any one from Westchester, Rockland Counties in NY, remember Birds of a Feather in North Salem?. Was in the middle of a apple orchard. We drive all the way from Long Island. A real barn and hay. Hot guys. Don't forget all the bars in Queens NY. Hatfield's, Flavors and others I can't remember off hand.