A Brief Polil—and Personal—History of Gay Bathho ‹ Lerary Hub

Contents:

• GAY BATHHOE
• A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
• GAY BOSTON
• JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

GAY BATHHOE

The se of so much gay history Boston is pretty borg om the outsi, jt a squat gray buildg that stretch a whole block on Boylston near Fenway Park. But until jt before quarante — when Mache Nightclub and bar Ramrod officially closed — past the ont door and the blacked-out wdows at 1254 Boylston St., si was, the leather and Levis gay bar, moved to the first floor 1981 wh Mache rvg out a separate gay nightclub downstairs 1998. Both spots had that kd of slightly dgy, lived- feel of a well-loved gay hangout, the cigarette smell that seemed to hang the air long after Boston banned smokg doors, the dim rners here and there for makg out.

A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO

(Courty Helix Peb Photos)The gay scene Boston is still domated by whe guys, but at least for many, Mache was a hub for a more diverse crowd. The spot hosted Dyke Nights and at least one gay weddg receptn.

"Donald SmhThere won’t be any big sendoff for the last gay bar and nightclub the historic gayborhood and ’s jt one chapter a story about people on the outskirts of a changg cy. (Courty Donald Smh)But, oh, the gay scene. Followg the Stonewall Rts of 1969, more gay bars opened throughout the untry and by the 1970s and 1980s, you uld h up multiple gay bars all wh a few blocks of each other Fenway.

“It was one of the few gay bars where you uld see Black people gog , and Black queer people, and straight people, ” Krone says. Blame the ter for the ath of gay spac Fenway and beyond if you want, but the real reason perhaps isn’t that tidy.

GAY BOSTON

El, an eveng gay bar for Black patrons, operated briefly Roxbury om 1970 to 1973. “The gay bars Boston never have e back after AIDS. ”Mark KroneBis gentrifitn, Krone has another theory about the cle of the gay bar Boston.

Unlike New York and other plac which bounced back pretty well after the height of the AIDS crisis, gay bars wise, Boston never did, ” he says. COVID-19 and the ensug quarante have thrown the world for a loop, but there are still gay spots town, like Club Café Back Bay and Blend Dorchter, where Miranda Wrights hosts viewg parti of shows the “RuPl’s Drag Race” anchise. Every once a while, as though strand si a gay Advent lendar, I e upon a room wh the door popped open and a guy si eher lyg nu on his tummy or jackg off while his ey stare out to the hallway.

Walkg back to my room, I nsir how eply reassurg mt be for gay men to know that, at any time of day or night, and wh very ltle effort and expense, they n get head on the fly, no strgs attached. My first experience at a gay bathhoe took place D. I met a handsome Black man wh dreadlocks a gay bar lled The Fireplace on the edge of Dupont Circle, and after a few rounds of drks, we left to go have sex only to disver that neher of uld take the actn back to where we lived.

JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

The vibe uld be ls aggrsive there than at gay dance clubs like Badlands or Chaos, and the entry fee was ually cheaper than a night of drks at gay bars such as Mr.

But, lookg back over the past half century, sex has been the fixatn of vol nservativ, who never knew the genue value of gay bathho, sex clubs, or porn theaters. So, by the late 1970s, you uld roll your ey at the opponents of gay sexual liberatn as you walked to the Roman Holiday Spa Los Angel; or the Nob Hill Theater San Francis; or Man’s Country Chigo; or the Olympic Baths Washgton, D. ; or the Ellwt Stereo Theater Dallas; or the Gay Paree Cema Atlanta; or the Mhaft New York Cy.