Photos and documentatn of people at area gay events before the 1970s are fairly rare, so much of what we know om an amalgamatn of diari, oral histori, stori passed down and clu left behd.
Contents:
- IOWA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
- EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS CEDAR RAPIDS
- HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
- HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
- HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
IOWA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
Belle's Basix. Cedar Rapids' premiere gay bar. Weekly drag performanc. Dancefloor. Servg the muny wh pri sce 1997. * cedar rapids gay bar *
“We ll ourselv a gay bar, but we are an everybody bar, ” Harrison told KCRG April 2020. Ensurg the safety of his patrons beme a more dntg prospect after the Pulse Nightclub shootg 2016, durg which an anti-LGBTQ terrorist killed 49 people an Orlando, Florida gay club.
Belle’s Basix has been the target of egggs, BB gun pellets and slurs shouted by drive-by homophob. “It tly is the one day I love to s back and see how much we ‘misfs’ n e together and eat, drk, and be OURSELVES…gay, str8, whatever!!!
The gay muny seems to have let go so i need to do the same. CEDAR RAPIDS — In 1997, flyg the pri flag on First Avenue NE was a revolutnary marker of what is now Cedar Rapids’ only gay bar. When first opened nearly 25 years ago, Club Basix’s most distguishg feature was s visibily — somethg absent om Cedar Rapids’ gay bars for s.
EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS CEDAR RAPIDS
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gay Bars Lbian Clubs - Maps, Lks, Drivg Directns * cedar rapids gay bar *
Before she me out 1993, Newhall rint Jennifer Rowray, now a popular lbian personaly on TikTok, was gog to the 620 nightclub, a gay staple Iowa Cy now closed. Long before mastream tablishments picked up on the trend of puttg their buildg number or addrs their name, as did the 620 club, she said was generally a signal of safety for gay patrons.
Another mon for gay bars was havg “Mr. But plac like the saved her om isolatn — feelg like you’re the only one, often one of the most horrifyg experienc she said a gay or lbian person n experience.
HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
* cedar rapids gay bar *
” Even the small ways, the shared culture is a ntuo monstratn that gay bars like Basix do more than tolerate LGBTQ patrons — they accept them.
“Gay bars have never, ever jt been bars, ” Rowray said.
” She don’t thk of as a gay bar — jt a bar. History of gay bars Cedar Rapids Before Club Basix opened the old McDonald’s rtrant at 3916 First Ave. NE, formerly known as Club Basix, had been the one stutn that held on for 25 years as gay bars cled and social media beme ubiquo.
HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
Photos and documentatn of people at area gay events before the 1970s are fairly rare, so much of what we know om an amalgamatn of diari, oral histori, stori passed down and clu left behd. * cedar rapids gay bar *
“Before I wouldn’t close bee I thought the gay muny need . Over the last , LGBTQ people have felt more fortable gog to other bars, and straight people have felt more fortable g to gay bars, where they experience unndnal acceptance.
HISTORY HAPPENGS: GAY HISTORY HARD TO TRACK CEDAR RAPIDS
“We uldn’t say was a gay bar; we said was a dance club wh predomantly gay clientele, ” said Andrew Harrison, owner of what’s now lled Belle’s Basix, at 3916 First Ave. If the employe weren’t reful, heterosexual llers wh an agenda who were told was a gay bar would try to tell the police they were beg discrimated agast, he said. From private rooms and apartments to LGBTQ-iendly hotels, you have the optn to stay the heart of gay districts as well as other neighborhoods the plac you vis.
A loft Soho, a shared room Barcelona or the Castro, a gay-iendly hotel Le Marais or Chelsea, experience misterb&b all gay travel statns! Type: Gay Bar wh Live Entertament. In a nutshell: Club CO2 is a Gay owned and operated GLBTQA night club open 7 days a week ~ 365 days a year.
It also ntaed advertisg om lol bs and rponse to natnal pri days beg popular and the muny enjoyg the social outgs, the first Gay Pri Day Cedar Rapids was held June 1995.