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

Contents:

• GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
• GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE
• THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD
• GAY BARS REMA CLOSED BALTIMORE JT AS LGBTQ MUNY NEEDS THEM MOST
• THE BEST BALTIMORE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BALTIMORE
• BT GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE
•  MARYLAND LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• 'WHERE DO WE GO?' BALTIMORE'S GAY NIGHTLIFE TAK A H WH GRAND CENTRAL'S IMPENDG CLOSURE
• BALTIMORE GAY MAP
• DES OF PA, MISTST AND A SIRE TO SELF-MEDITE LEAD TO HEAVIER DRK POURS AT BALTIMORE GAY BARS
• GAY USA
• THE HIPPO, LONGTIME ANCHOR OF BALTIMORE'S GAY MUNY, TO CLOSE THIS FALL

GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE

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.

GAY NIGHTLIFE BALTIMORE

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. 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 Rowan Tree: A sual neighborhood bar South Baltimore, The Rowan Tree ters to a diverse crowd but leans toward gay ctomers on the weekends. 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. Club Orphs: This unrground dance spot is technilly a self-scribed "goth club, " but the alternative vibe attracts a nsistent gay crowd as well.

THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD

Recent shows clu The Folks at Home, a lighthearted portra of an terracial gay uple livg South Baltimore, and Thoughts of a Colored Man, an hont exploratn of what means to be Black and male the 21st century. “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.

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.

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

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. 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.

THE BEST BALTIMORE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BALTIMORE

”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.

BT GAY BARS IN BALTIMORE

”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. ”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.

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. ”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.

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

“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.

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.

'WHERE DO WE GO?' BALTIMORE'S GAY NIGHTLIFE TAK A H WH GRAND CENTRAL'S IMPENDG CLOSURE

And jt Tuday, another mastay club, Colbalt, closed Baltimore, Grand Central’s closure follows several others recent Hippo, another large gay nightclub loted across the street, closed 2015.

) And Club Bunns near Lexgton Market, which attracted a gay black clientele, closed Febary after 30 years cle of gay nightclubs is beg attributed to the populary of gay datg webs and the fact that straight tablishments that have bee more welg — and th safer — for LGBTQ Demissew, executive director of The Pri Center of Maryland (formerly the GLCCB), thks that the strg of recent closgs means that the muny needs to crease support of the remag spac geared toward the LGBTQ muny.

4 ln large part bee of his clg health — he’s battlg stage-four throat ncer — said that the bs mol for gay nightclubs is not what once was. No, I will not support that, ” Chavis dited gay bars have dwdled, other tablishments have been fillg the void wh events like drag shows and gay South Lat Kchen has been throwg succsful drag bnch and bgo nights sce Sept.

BALTIMORE GAY MAP

”And while Pot South has been extremely succsful their drag events — almost all of them sell out — Keens said ’s still sad to see the cmblg of gay tablishments the cy.

”At Leon’s, a dimly l rectangle of a bar Mount Vernon known for s “heavy pours, ” two-for-one daily happy hour and a motley crew of gay male clientele, the mood has been somber, though bs has remaed steady.

DES OF PA, MISTST AND A SIRE TO SELF-MEDITE LEAD TO HEAVIER DRK POURS AT BALTIMORE GAY BARS

The fact that ci are now creatg the official posns, tell that ci regnize that nightlife is actually a very signifint part of the overall enomic profile of the cy, ” Ghaziani closg of gay bars and clubs that have historic meang and are signifint attractns are particularly troublg to Ghaziani. “The loss of anchor stutns will fely affect the gayborhood eper and more profound ways than other bs, ” he Womack, a Govans rint who performs as drag personaly Naomi Ratchet, said the sale of Grand Central has soured him to Mount Vernon and Baltimore as a whole.

GAY USA

At this pot, he said he is ncentratg on his Chavis said he wish Davis would have nsired the impact Grand Central’s sale would have on Baltimore’s gayborhood and s BaltimoreWeeklyGet the sop on that new rtrant, learn about chef chang and disver your favore new recipe.

”Lynch, 36, an engraver and apparel rator who intifi as gay, said that the sense of a close-kn muny LGBTQ bars lends themselv to genero servgs of alhol. ”In Baltimore-area gay bars and clubs there is an expectatn among loyal patrons that bartenrs will have a heavy hand when to pourg liquor.

Vernon rint, gay bars — and the pours that e wh them — provi a safe, faiary that he don’t see when he go to straight bars other neighborhoods such as Fells Pot.

THE HIPPO, LONGTIME ANCHOR OF BALTIMORE'S GAY MUNY, TO CLOSE THIS FALL

”Merlg, who works as a health re recg manager and intifi as gay, said the heavier pours a gay bar relat to the closer relatnships that are built gay bars. ”Robert Gay, -owner of The Manor, said his ctomers tell him that they n spot the difference the strength of drks at his tablishment vers other straight bars.

Other bars pour a one unt, ” he immediately strsed that the gay pour did not affect the bottom le as the majory of the heavier pours were wh “rail” liquors, which are the least expensive fact, Gay said that his biggt expense are the juic, bters, mixers and garnish ed for craft cktails.

I thk that the gay pour should be the standard pour, ” she origs of the gay pour reveal s of pa, mistst and a sire to Leon’s, Bryan said the gay pour is almost a form of survival for ctomers. Acrdg to Amerin Addictn Centers, 21% of transgenr patients and 10% of patients who intify as gay, lbian or bisexual have experienced harsh or abive language, and 27% of transgenr patients have been refed re om health re servic.