The number of gay bars has dwdled. A new generatn plans to brg them back. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI
• IS IT LAST CALL FOR THE GAY BAR?
• INDIANAPOLIS GAY BARS: 7 SPAC MA FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY
• THE 7 BT GAY BARS PHILALPHIA
• THE 5 BEST MOSW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS MOSW
• 'GAY BAR' TRACKS THE WAVE OF A WHOLE CULTURE — AND ONE LIFE
• THE NUMBER OF GAY BARS HAS DWDLED. A NEW GENERATN PLANS TO BRG THEM BACK.
• AS SEATTLE’S GAYBORHOOD MIGRAT, CAPOL HILL QUEER BARS FIGHT TO REMA A REFUGE
• TOP LGBT-FRIENDLY PLAC FOR GAY SENR TRAVEL AND RETIREMENT
• ‘MY FIRST GAY BAR’: 25 COMG-OF-AGE STORI
• GAY NEW YORK CY

THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI

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.

IS IT LAST CALL FOR THE GAY BAR?

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 entrance is through an unmarked shed behd a Chipotle, and featur a blend but unexpected gay/not crowd which same-sex grdg is rigur.

INDIANAPOLIS GAY BARS: 7 SPAC MA FOR THE LGBTQ+ MUNY

—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. 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.

THE 7 BT GAY BARS PHILALPHIA

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.

THE 5 BEST MOSW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS MOSW

While other gay bars of the time were basements or board up, Club Cafe faced by Columb Avenue wh floor to ceilg wdows.

'GAY BAR' TRACKS THE WAVE OF A WHOLE CULTURE — AND ONE LIFE

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.

THE NUMBER OF GAY BARS HAS DWDLED. A NEW GENERATN PLANS TO BRG THEM BACK.

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.

AS SEATTLE’S GAYBORHOOD MIGRAT, CAPOL HILL QUEER BARS FIGHT TO REMA A REFUGE

A gay gatherg spot sce 1939, and gay bar sce 1963, and the Bar Complex sce the 80s, s unassumg exterr beli a triple-threat treat of lounge, performance space, and a mirrored dance club reportedly moled after Stud 54. ) The glorly lively bar and rtrant scene is enhanced by a black box theater downstairs, where farcil plays, lbian standup, and gay dance troup reign.

Honey’s is sentially a sexy, gay speakeasy wh a DJ booth where queers of all strip n dance their hearts out until 2 am. Jt a uple of blocks om the beach, Twist brgs the whole breadth of the Miami gay world together to dance and flirt and keep movg.

TOP LGBT-FRIENDLY PLAC FOR GAY SENR TRAVEL AND RETIREMENT

CourtyIndianapolis: English IvyEnglish Ivy advertis self as an “LGBTQ+-enthed” “gay-therg place” and that is not an overstatement. If you want to get away om the typil scene at fellow gay bars Olly’s and Gregs Our Place, English Ivy is an ial place to meet iends: mature enough for a proper Ladi Lunch (or bnch or dner.

They are stars the makg and their rendn of Cele Dn’s “It’s All Comg Back to Me Now” will shatter your pt glass and break your ltle, gay heart. It’s not a gay bar the tradnal sense, but a place where traed pianists play selectns om Broadway shows and all of the drama teachers and mil theater majors of the tri-state area nverge to sg along.

‘MY FIRST GAY BAR’: 25 COMG-OF-AGE STORI

It was the se of an early gay-liberatn “sip ” 1966, years before Stonewall, and has been a low-key haven ever sce, wh a diverse clientele, a small menu, classic cktails, and an extensive (and packed) 4:00-7:00 happy hour. In December, Dave’s hosted a queer holiday market wh “live gay bands” and “cute queer vendors” at nearby Bohemian Beer Garn. It’s not que French-themed, ’s not que Mardi Gras-spired, feels as close as we have experienced this untry to a gay neighborhood pub.

GAY NEW YORK CY

The origal was burned down an anti-gay hate-crime a few years back, but the revival has jt opened across the street and is bigger and better, wh a new performance space. CourtyWashgton DC: TraIn a town where n feel like every other bar is crawlg wh Capol Hill staffers lookg to talk shop, Tra is the rare, glorly gay dive where absolutely everyone is wele to jt kick back. I was sadned when I heard some months ago that The Mars Bar, the only dited gay and lbian nightclub Alai, South Atralia, would be closg after 40 years bs.

In a 2015 paper, Toby Lea, John W, and Robert Reynolds outled prev rearch regardg reasons for chang socializatn and, drawg on prev work, the “stctural cle” of lbian and gay scen, such as that of Oxford Street Sydney. The rearchers outled theoretil bate as to whether the gay liberatn movement has given way to a post-gay era, where sexual orientatn is not central to inty, there is creased stigmatizatn, and ls isolatn is felt by same-sex attracted persons; all of which translat to different methods of socializatn and relatnship formatn. Some of my iends were of the opn that changg social attus meant that there wasn’t as much of a need for gay nightclubs or bars.