The stereotype of gay men as out the bars while lbians anize potlucks at home miss the vibrant history of lbian social spac Baltimore. That same issue of the Gay Communy Center newspaper featured a map of lbian and gay plac the cy, cludg at least six bars—and that's not untg the floatg bar on the regular gay and lbian cis around the harbor, the popular Ladi Tea at the Hippo—then lled The Pk Hippopotam—or the many women's
Contents:
- GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
- GAY BARS REMA CLOSED BALTIMORE JT AS LGBTQ MUNY NEEDS THEM MOST
- THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD
- MAPPG THE CLOSG OF GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
- GAY BARS WERE A HAVEN FOR MANY
- 'WHERE DO WE GO?' BALTIMORE'S GAY NIGHTLIFE TAK A H WH GRAND CENTRAL'S IMPENDG CLOSURE
- IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?
- BT GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
- THE BEST BALTIMORE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BALTIMORE
GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
Baltimore's thrivg gay nightlife scene rivals that of nearby Washgton, D.C. LGBT visors have plenty of bars, clubs, and events to choose om." emprop="scriptn * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
C., is a powerhoe of the gay nightlife scene on the East Coast, s unassumg and quirky next-door neighbor promis gay travelers an equally good time. It's the hometown of inic gay filmmaker John Waters and his drag queen me, Dive, and the Mount Vernon neighborhood is one of the longt-tablished gay districts the untry.
If you're on the lookout for somethg different om the stereotypil gay bars, then this cy will likely appeal to you. Some of Baltimore's gay bars have been around for s, and ntue to attract patrons both young and old. Mount Vernon is the gay neighborhood Baltimore, and many of the bars are ncentrated around that central area.
However, other LGBT spots are sttered throughout the cy and even if you don't go to an explicly gay place, the majory of bars Baltimore nsir themselv gay-iendly. The Drkery: One of Baltimore's olst gay bars, The Drkery has a laid-back pub feel wh daily drk specials and weekend drag shows. The Rowan Tree: A sual neighborhood bar South Baltimore, The Rowan Tree ters to a diverse crowd but leans toward gay ctomers on the weekends.
GAY BARS REMA CLOSED BALTIMORE JT AS LGBTQ MUNY NEEDS THEM MOST
It’s Pri Month, and there are fewer gay bars open Baltimore jt as members of the LGBTQ muny say they are need most. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
Leon's of Baltimore: A leather bar that's been servg the gay muny Baltimore sce 1957. In the early years, ctomers were asked if they were a "iend of Dorothy" before enterg, a reference to Judy Garland's "The Wizard of Oz" character and mon lgo om the era to furtively ask if someone is gay. Mastream gay dance clubs are glargly absent the Baltimore area, wh the largt one shut down early 2020.
Factory 17: Prevly known—and still sometim referred to—as Club 1722, Factory 17 is the after-hours gay dance club Baltimore.
Club Orphs: This unrground dance spot is technilly a self-scribed "goth club, " but the alternative vibe attracts a nsistent gay crowd as well. Wh Pri Month celebratns full swg, the fate of Baltimore’s gay bars and nightspots remas uncerta jt as the LGBTQ muny fac a myriad of mountg of the cy’s largt bars and venu — Central and The Manor — rema shuttered, wh no ditn that eher will be open for Pri Week activi this absence of what many ll “safe spac” for LGBTQ members occurs as they and their rights are unr attack by many nservative policians, activists and Knaff, a Harbor East rint and the longtime edor of The Washgton Bla, has been monorg the LGBTQ muny for the past two s. We’ve seen attacks on trans youth and drag queens, along wh book bans and even ‘Don’t say gay’ laws that are ripped om Vladimir Put’s playbook, ” Knaff strsed the sential nature of tablishments centered around LGBTQ clientele.
THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD
* gay bar baltimore 2016 *
“We need our own safe spac where we n be ourselv — gay bars are where I me out, where I met close iends and met my future hband. No reopeng date has been Hay, Central’s owner, did not rpond to repeated msag om The Baltimore Manor’s fate also remas rtrant and nightclub has been “temporarily closed” sce shortly before Christmas due to damage om broken Up for AlertsGet notified of need-to-know om The Banner“At the current time, we do not have an exact reopeng date and we are at the mercy of ntractors, but we are hopeful won’t be much longer until we n reopen, ” said Josh Gay, who -owns the bs.
MAPPG THE CLOSG OF GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
I "disvered" gay bars the '70s, when a hippie uple I met at a mpground gently suggted I might go to one, notg how "open md" I seemed, yet really somehow sensg I was gay. So I went, venturg alone om the suburbs of Philalphia to a dark, seedy alley, where I knocked on a big woon door and waed for someone to e and open the ty 6-ch by 6-ch wdow to see if I was OK to adm. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
Other plac — such as The Charl Feral Hill and The Brass Tap Statn North — have regular weekend drag shows, which are normally filled to plac like Guilford Brewery regularly offer LGBTQ-themed events, such as drag bnch, gay bgo and karaoke. ”In addn to providg a safe space for patrons, gay bars also offer employment opportuni for LGBTQ workers who might feel ls fortable workg heterosexual World War II, gay bars have served as “havens” for people such as drag performers and bartenrs lookg to make a livg the gay esystem, acrdg to Greggor Mattson, a soclogy profsor at Oberl College and thor of the 2023 book “Who Needs Gay Bars? ”“For people who are very butch women or very femme mal or genr nonbary, gay clubs have been a key place of employment as well as for ctomers to fd ourselv, ” Mattson Beno, a bartenr at Leon’s Backroom, said his bar offers employment opportuni for all people, gay or straight.
“For the gay/queer muny to thrive, is important that we are visible, ” he said. Gay bars aga are still some of the only guaranteed spac that offer this.
GAY BARS WERE A HAVEN FOR MANY
There is a reason that gay Baltimore is nicknamed Charm Cy. Its historic neighborhoods, such as Fells Pot, Charl Street, and Harborplace, transport visors to another time, while also offerg morn world-class ameni dg, entertament, and the arts. The harbor attracts ternatnal tourism for s famed Natnal Aquarium gay Baltimore, which boasts one of the most diverse displays of mare life the natn. And bars like Grand Street Statn and Hippo provi an excg nightlife for LGBT tourists. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
”Gay bars fadg away BaltimoreWh the populary of datg apps and the growth of gay nights and clivy at straight tablishments, gay bars Baltimore were already a agile state before COVID-19.
(Kal Newman/The Baltimore Banner)On a random weekday night, you’ll be hard-prsed to fd an open, by gay bar Baltimore’s famed “gayborhood” of Mount addn to stapl such as The Manor and Central beg closed, The Drkery, a nearby longstandg gay dive bar that attracts a large Black clientele, is closed on Mondays. “It’s a dyg dtry, ” lamented a veteran bartenr at one of Baltimore’s remag gay bars.
”The cle of gay bars Baltimore do not surprise Mattson, who spent time Charm Cy speakg wh ctomers at a handful of LGBTQ tablishments, many now closed, for his recently published book. “I spect the reason is that ci wh gayborhoods are tourism draws both regnally and natnally. Given that Baltimore don’t have a herent gayborhood as much as uld be, uld be losg s regnal tourism to Washgton, D.
'WHERE DO WE GO?' BALTIMORE'S GAY NIGHTLIFE TAK A H WH GRAND CENTRAL'S IMPENDG CLOSURE
Baltimore police aren’t seeg an uptick reports, but a Pri Center of Maryland survey found a risg ncern the LGBTQ muny about beg dgged a drk at gay bars. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
Natnally, gay bar bs listgs experienced a 45% cle om 2002 to 2023, acrdg to Mattson. ”The viabily of gay bars has been a recurrg topic of nversatn the social circle of Karl Jabs, a gay bar patron. Wh The Manor beg closed, there are no queer-owned bars left Mount Vernon, ” said Jabs, a 32-year-old neighborhood rint who has been gog to gay bars for the past two s.
”Brandon Gszczynski, manager of the Baltimore Eagle Bar & Nightclub, said he hop all the gay bars and tablishments rema open — particularly The Manor, which he said attracted “D. Baltimore Eagle, which tradnally has attracted members of the leather muny, has tried everythg n to keep patrons g out, addg go-go boy nights, bookg a slew of “RuPl’s Drag Race” nttants, and hostg parti for gay athletic teams, but ’s jt not drawg the same number of ctomers as a few years ago. Grdano/for The Baltimore Banner)Drag queens scrambleDrag performers have been particularly h by the mise of gay bars and bars were closed bee of social distancg l, they had to fd alternative ways to perform via outdoor spac or virtually.
IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?
There are some clubs that do not ter to certa muni, but Baltimore there are several gay bars which ter to the lbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual (LGBT) muny. In the bars, people n feel ee to vis, mgle, talk and be entertaed. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
”Rose attributed the lack of lbian bars to a variety of reasons, cludg sexism and the patriarchy that affects everythg om small bs loans to leas; the wage gap between men and women and straight women and queer women; the fact that women have never owned as much real tate as men; gayborhoods tradnally centerg around men; unclear succsn plans for bars se of ath and illns; and the populary of onle socializatn.
“They are welg to everyone, but they still manage to prerve their queer flavor, ” he said, addg that 60% of LGBTQ bars now ter to all Beno, 36, is an art profsor and bartenr at Leon’s, one of the natn’s olst gay bars. (Kal Newman/The Baltimore Banner)Straight spac beg more cliveAs gay bars and venu have closed and straight bars have started offerg gay nights, events have bee much more mixed.
BT GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
Baltimore is a hotbed of gay clubs and this list has the bt of them. Wh the mon bond of terg to the GLBT muny, the siari end there. Each club has s own distctive take on Baltimore nightlife. * gay bar baltimore 2016 *
Gay bars are often open on holidays bee they know that there are some people that have no place to go. ”Mattson qutned if gay-iendly spac n provi the same role for the LGBTQ muny.
“I wonr if those plac serve as polil hubs for activism as gay bars have been historilly? “Gay bars have been plac for philanthropy, for everythg om fundraisg for burial expens to genr-affirmatn surgery. ”Huffman qutned the motiv of some straight tablishments offerg gay-themed events.
THE BEST BALTIMORE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BALTIMORE
“There are a lot of gay people that jt want to assiate to normal life. Wh gay bars closg Baltimore, brgs up the evable qutns: Can we expla this?
“Years ago, gay bars were safe zon when gays were fear of beg beat up, ” says Don Davis, who owned Grand Central for nearly 30 years until new owners took over earlier this year. Beyond matchmakg webs and LGBTQ-iendly datg apps, the movement to legalize same-sex marriage 2015 also played a part curtailg gay-bar bs.