‘The are our hom’: LA gay bars fight to stay afloat after year of shutdown | Los Angel | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL
• 52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL
• WHERE TO HAVE A GAY OL' TIME LOS ANGEL: A NIGHTLIFE GUI
• THE BEST LOS ANGEL GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LOS ANGEL
• ‘THE ARE OUR HOM’: LA GAY BARS FIGHT TO STAY AFLOAT AFTER YEAR OF SHUTDOWN

THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL

Enjoy Two Caliente Dance Floors of Mic | 14 #Trophyboy Go-Go’s by Andrew Christian | Drag Celebri Galore | Strongt Drks #gayweho | 1000+ Party People | After Hours Dancg until 4am.

Utterly breathtakg, this inic tablishment was crowned LOGO's "Bt Gay Bar the World, " makg a mt-see LA’s gay nightlife scene. This historic Spanish flamen and tapas bar Sunset Boulevard, while not a gay venue per se, El Cid hosts some fabulo gay-themed shows that are not to be missed. Micky’s WeHo has long been a staple on Wt Hollywood’s strip of gay nightclubs and bars on Santa Moni Boulevard, known for s open-walled two-story buildg where passersby n see the party ragg om the street.

The venue is the only Latx gay bar LA that explicly ters to a gay and Mexin dience every night, not jt as a theme once a week.

52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL

Though Sweetwater isn’t officially known as a lbian bar, the humble tablishment has long been the go-to spot for queer women the lol gayborhood, which featur nearly half a dozen gay bars that le Broadway Long Beach.

One of Long Beach’s few, if not only, three-level gay bars, Executive Sue boasts a karaoke bar, vio gam, pool tabl for rent, and regular drag shows.

Dubbed by KCET as Montebello’s bt Lato gay bar, Chi is the sister to Club Cobra, servg as a groundg se for the queer Latx muny the suburbs of East LA. Though some of more jad gay Angelenos will sff at the Abbey’s fx-fancy dér and normie vib, you n’t ny ’s got a lot gog for .

WHERE TO HAVE A GAY OL' TIME LOS ANGEL: A NIGHTLIFE GUI

Gold Coast is loted at 8228 Santa Moni Boulevard and Tnks is loted at 8809 Santa Moni SportsbarFor gays who prefer football to Gaga, Gym is a wele alternative. Gym also supports gay sports leagu, helpg to erase our memori of high school douchebags and replace them wh a way to bond and meet like-md gays that go beyond the bar.

Btlg as may be on weekends, ’s a great neighborhood bar durg the week, when s solid jebox sps B-52’s, The Smhs and other alt-queer favor, and on Sundays, when Rudy Bl’s Mixtape daytime DJ event and the Rocksteady Lounge at night offer somethg other than the typil gay bar experience. It’s one of the only gay bars to ter to the leather and gay fetish crowds, but s sizable pat also make a great place to gather and—gasp—actually talk and be heard.

Expect filthy jok, sexy onlookers and some of the bt alternative drag performance an eye out for the next Trannyshack at their l CampoThe last remnant of Hypern Avenue’s gay tablishments (R. Precct has prented self as a “rock n roll gay bar, ” meang ’s more of a levis ‘n’ chucks kd of place ak to the Eagle or Fltle. RedleWhile we n’t ment wh certaty about Redle sce ’s not fully open yet and has jt held special events and a soft openg so far, Redle seems to promise a more upsle DTLA gay bar experience (perhaps simplified, Redle will be the Abbey to Precct’s Eagle).

THE BEST LOS ANGEL GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LOS ANGEL

The Broadway Corridor, which stretch along Broadway between Belmont Shore and the East Village area of Downtown Long Beach, has a smatterg of gay bars nveniently led up as a built- pub crawl, om the youthful Faln (1435 E Broadway) to the bearier Br (1744 E Broadway) and Me Shaft (1720 E Broadway) and girl-iendly Sweetwater Saloon (1201 E Broadway). Artia BarThis longstandg spot (formerly known as The Dolph) is ltle known outsi of sleepy Redondo Beach, but ’s an oasis the otherwise gay sert that is the South Bay and s surroundg areas. And y, Pasana isn’t the Valley, but ’s worth notg that this rich, manicured suburb has s very own divey gay bar right off the Gold Le lled the Boulevard (3199 E Foothill Blvd.

A., queer nightlife has long been a primary source for joyful revelry and creative exprsn, and promoters and owners alike keep evolvg, growg and “(gay)me-changg” beyond social stereotyp, wh new hot spots new parts of town.

‘THE ARE OUR HOM’: LA GAY BARS FIGHT TO STAY AFLOAT AFTER YEAR OF SHUTDOWN

The Chapel: Built to be “the bt gay EDM party every night, ” the Chapel at the Abbey is a ltle more seclud and smaller than the Abbey proper, which is adjacent but not nnected to. (Gay)me-changer: The lights throughout the venue perfectly plement the mic and make you feel more as if you're at a ncert or a rave than a club.

(Gay)me-changer: Havg to adjt for a bigger space and different crowd, the owners began dng profsnal dancers — among them petive pole dancers — to enterta patrons. Try not to be too mmerized by the talent on display — 's the only gay bar on the WeHo strip where you may fd yourself entranced by someone of the oppose sex!

(Gay)me-changer: The sheer unapologetic gayns (and dare I say ratchet-ns) of the bar: water gun petns on the junk of the go-go dancers, gay porn on the TV screens, even the name of the bar (which stands for Fucked Up Beyond All Regnn) or theme nights like Unload Friday or Thursday's B. Gym Sportsbar: If you walk by most gay bars WeHo when RuPl's Drag Race is on, the way the crowd shouts and cheers at the televisn may seem more like they're watchg a sportg event.

Self-scribed as “the first and only gay sports bar Los Angel, ” the bar ters not only to sports lovers but also to players — the bar has played host to after or viewg parti for many gay leagu.