Gay bars rema closed Baltimore jt as LGBTQ muny needs them most - The Baltimore Banner

Contents:

• GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
• THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD
• GAY BARS REMA CLOSED BALTIMORE JT AS LGBTQ MUNY NEEDS THEM MOST
• BALTIMORE GAY BARS
• IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?
• MAPPG THE CLOSG OF GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
•  MARYLAND LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE

Central markets self as an LGBTQ+ (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and others)-affirmg dance and night club that wel everyone. 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.

THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD

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.

GAY BARS REMA CLOSED BALTIMORE JT AS LGBTQ MUNY NEEDS THEM MOST

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.

BALTIMORE GAY BARS

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 gay bars closg Baltimore, brgs up the evable qutns: Can we expla this?

IS THERE A GROWG RISK OF BEG ‘ROOFIED’ AT A GAY BAR?

“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.

“Most of the owners of the bs were olr, whe gay men that entered to their goln years, ” says Shele Greene of the Pri Center of Maryland. “I’m not sayg there’s no more gay-bashg, but certaly people are more cent now than they were.

MAPPG THE CLOSG OF GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE

“Whether was Grdr or gentrifitn that killed gay bars, ’s our job to explore new optns, ” Keens says.

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. “Gay bars and clubs are more important than ever, ” Knaff said. “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.

 MARYLAND LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

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. 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.