A Year Gay Bars | The New Yorker

Contents:

• ONE OF NEW YORK CY’S OLST GAY BARS IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK
• THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI
• A YEAR GAY BARS
• THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC
• BAR GAY PARIS : L NTOURNABL

ONE OF NEW YORK CY’S OLST GAY BARS IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK

The bar is the se where three activists staged a simple act of prott 1966: openly announcg they were gay, then orrg a drk. They lled a “sip-, ” and the three men, members of the Mattache Society, an early gay-rights group, were hopg to challenge the New York State Liquor Authory’s ban on servg LGBTQ patrons.

A bar uld be raid, and s liquor license rcd, for servg gay ctomers, who were nsired “disorrly” unr the le. One of the cy’s olst gay bars, Juli’ had already been add to the Natnal Register of Historic Plac 2016—along wh nearby Stonewall Inn, the se of the famo 1969 protts that helped spark the Amerin LGBTQ rights movement.

The first bar on their planned circu, the Ukraian-Amerin Village Rtrant, knew of the prott and closed early; had a sign the wdow that read, “If you are gay, please go away, ” as the New York Tim’ Thomas A. “I drk, ” he told the Tim, “and who’s to say whether I’m a homosexual or not. At the time, Juli’ “was a rather dull neighborhood place which was about three-quarters gay, ” Randy Wicker, who joed the other three later that day, told the Tim’ Jim Farber 2016.

THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI

But when the men arrived at Juli’ and announced that they were gay, the manager refed to serve them. Gay Rights,. The spac, whether always gay iendly or only durg certa tim of the day or week, gave LGBT people the eedom to be themselv a way they ually uld not be their personal or profsnal liv.

The word “gay” speaks to our abily to do exactly that. The word “gay” lls to md our special knack for fdg the light the darkns, for buildg the dance floor off to the si of the cel world.

Let’s take a look at some of the bt gay bars Ameri, om the open-air, vil-may-re spac Wt Hollywood to the neighborhood pub downtown St. The olst gay bar North Carola (found 1976) draws every tegory and mographic. The entrance is through an unmarked shed behd a Chipotle, and featur a blend but unexpected gay/not crowd which same-sex grdg is rigur.

A YEAR GAY BARS

—Alfonso Fernanz NavasCourtyAt: Cheer Up CharliBack when I was a young gay, I saw the olt, most betiful woman the world at Cheer Up Charli. —Abigail CovgtonCourtyBrooklyn: The ExleyFull of ntradictns, The Exley is a ltle different than other gay bars. It’s gay Cheers.

It feels like everythg a gay bar should be. When the bar fally reopened Sprg 2022, an entire borough’s worth of gays celebrated by floodg the new back pat all summer and Gger’s has been crowd wh queers ever sce. —Diana HubbellBoston: Club CafeHow is Boston’s stalwart gay bar/rtrant/performance space inic?

THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC

It began s life as a beer-and-we offshoot of the Metropolan Health Club, a gym that opened 1983 to serve the gay ctomers who’d been bullied out of other lol clubs at the height of AIDS hysteria. It gave the boys a place to gather the ‘80s, the first outpost that helped tablish the South End as the Boston gayborhood. It brought the gay and straight muni together the ‘90s wh clever baret programmg.

But perhaps most signifintly, gave the gay muny of Boston somethg sperately need: visibily. While other gay bars of the time were basements or board up, Club Cafe faced by Columb Avenue wh floor to ceilg wdows.

Big Chicks serv a diverse crowd— ’s young, ’s old, ’s one of the only plac you’ll see gay men and lbians together! —Dave HolmCourtyChigo: Carol’s Pub Not every gay bar is explicly a gay bar.

BAR GAY PARIS : L NTOURNABL

They jt have major gay vib and lots of queer upl makg out the bathroom.

The legendary hoeband, Diamondback, has a 25, 000-song repertoire and a boot llectn that uld make a gay wboy cry. While you won’t fd any Pri flags at Farraguts, you will undoubtedly hear Cele Dn and Melissa Etheri blarg om the bar’s dty, old jebox and, hontly, isn’t that jt as gay? CourtyDallas: Round-Up SaloonEqual parts wboy boots and dis ball, Round Up Saloon opened 42 years ago Dallas as a gay untry wtern dance hall.

Thanks to Perez-Gallardo and their team, gay people who love the outdoors (most lbians) now have a iendly place to unwd after a hike. Billed as Wt Virgia's olst gay bar, the venue regularly brgs some of the biggt queer performg artists the game right now. Live out your Brokeback Mounta fantasi at this verno club, where wboy stum are not nsired drag, and le dancg is not an explic exprsn of homophobia.