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

Contents:

• THE BT GAY CISG SPOTS LOS ANGEL
• THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL
• ‘THE ARE OUR HOM’: LA GAY BARS FIGHT TO STAY AFLOAT AFTER YEAR OF SHUTDOWN
• THE BEST LOS ANGEL GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LOS ANGEL
• QUEER NEIGHBORHOODS\NMY FAVORE ASPECT OF LOS ANGEL’ QUEER LIFE IS S ABILY TO ACODATE A VARIETY OF SUBCULTUR AND PASSNS DUE TO S ENORMO POPULATN AND WI NSTELLATNS OF NEIGHBORHOODS. WHILE QUEER LIFE IS CENTERED WT HOLLYWOOD, SILVER LAKE, AND DOWNTOWN, PULS THROUGHOUT THE CY BETIFUL, DIVERSE, AND CREATIV WAYS. YOU’LL NEED MORE THAN A FEW LIFETIM TO EXPERIENCE ALL, BUT HERE ARE A FEW STANDOUTS. \NWT HOLLYWOOD\NHOME TO OVER TWENTY GAY BARS WALKG DISTANCE, A PLETHORA OF QUEER-OWNED BS,  LA PRI FTIVAL AND PARA, OUTFT, A HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL, AND OVER A THIRD OF RINTS INTIFIYG AS LGBTQ+, THE CY OF WT HOLLYWOOD IS PATED WH RABOW STREET CROSSGS YEAR ROUND. IT’S NO WONR “WEHO” HAS BEEN A TOP LGBTQ+ WELG STATN SCE THE 1970S AND NTU TO DRAW TRAVELERS AND NEW RINTS OM AROUND THE WORLD. \NSILVER LAKE\NTHOUGH STONEWALL IS LARGELY CREDED WH CG THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, LOS ANGEL HAS A FEW HISTORIL LGBTQ+ UPRISGS THAT PREDATE THE INN’S 1969 RTS, CLUDG THE BLACK CAT RAIDS AND PROTTS SILVER LAKE THAT TOOK PLACE 1967. THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS LONG BEEN AN EPICENTER FOR QUEER CULTURE— WAS HOME TO “AMERI’S FIRST CELEBRATED DRAG PERFORMER,” JULIAN ELTGE, THE 1910S/20S, THE MATTACHE SOCIETY (SAID TO BE AMERI’S FIRST GAY ORANIZATN, T. 1950), AS WELL AS A PREVALENT 80S LEATHER SCENE. THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S QUEER HEART STILL BEATS STRONGLY SPE GENTRIFITN AS MANY QUEER-OWNED BS NTUE TO THRIVE. \NDOWNTOWN LA\NDTLA HAS RECENTLY TABLISHED SELF AS AN UP-AND-G QUEER NEIGHBORHOOD SCE A HANDFUL OF QUEER-OWNED BS AND BARS OPENED 2015, BUT S QUEER HISTORY IS LONG AND STORIED, CLUDG SOME OF THE FIRST LGBTQ+ RTS THE UNTRY AT COOPER DO-NUTS 1959, AS WELL AS A LLECTN OF GAY-IENDLY HANGOUTS AND CISG LOL PERISHG SQUARE LLED “THE RUN” PREVALENT OM THE 20S TO THE 60S. THE LOFTY NEIGHBORHOOD EVEN PUTS ON ’S OWN PRI FTIVAL, DTLA PROUD, EVERY AUGT. \N \NBT PLAC TO STAY\NACE HOTEL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGEL\NTHERE ARE A HANDFUL OF NEW HOTELS SPRGG UP DOWNTOWN, BUT THE ACE REMAS ONE OF THE MOST QUEER-IENDLY, WH S PRI POOL PARTI, SOCIALS, AND S STUNNG PROGRAMMG AT THE 1927 GOTHIC-STYLE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL, WHERE PERFORMERS LIKE SASCHA VELOUR, BIAN DEL R, KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA, AND MANY MORE HAVE PERFORMED SOLO SHOWS TO SOLD OUT DIENC.\NPALIHOE WT HOLLYWOOD\NSTEPS AWAY OM THE REVELRY ON NEARBY SANTA MONI BOULEVARD, THE BOUTIQUE 37-ROOM PALIHOE WT HOLLYWOOD IS A TE REFUGE THE HEART OF ONE OF THE WORLDS LARGT GAYBORHOODS. THE HOTEL HAS HANDSOME TERRS, A SUN-DRENCHED ROOFTOP WH WI VIEWS OF LOS ANGEL, AS WELL AS AN ELEGANT BAR.\NAIRBNBS SILVER LAKE\NFEEL LIKE A LOL AND RENT A BUNGALOW SILVER LAKE. BIS THEIR FAIRLY CENTRAL LOTN THE CY BETWEEN DTLA AND WT HOLLYWOOD, YOU’LL BE CLOSE TO HIP STOR, QUEER HISTORY, AND LIVELY BARS LIKE AKBAR.\N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":2479282491},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":802,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":558,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"CUTI. ","HEIGHT":802,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":802,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20790,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":1184216763},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"QUEER-OWNED BS \NCUTI\NCUTI, A TWO-STORY FFEE SHOP AND MUNY CENTER EAST HOLLYWOOD MAY BE ONE OF THE ONLY BRICK-AND-MORTAR QUEER F THE STAT AND IS A GREAT PLACE TO MEET PEOPLE BEYOND THE BARS AND CLUBS OF THE GREATER LOS ANGEL AREA. THE BRIGHTLY L ART DE TERR ALSO HAS A FEW SHELV HOLDG A SMALL BUT POWERFUL LIBRARY OF QUEER THEORY AND LERATURE—THE SPACE ALSO HOSTS QUEER BOOK CLUBS, SOCIALS, AND OTHER EVENTS. \NCASA DEL CAMPO\NSILVER LAKE’S CASA DEL CAMPO HAS BEEN AROUND SCE 1962 AND HAS BEE A QUEER LANDMARK SCE WAS ONCE SURROUND BY BATH HO AND LEATHER BARS. BIS S HEARTY CAL-TEX MENU (AND HEAVY POUR MARGARAS) ’S KNOWN FOR S BARET THEATRE, THE CAVERN CLUB THEATER, WHICH PUTS ON MPY PLAYS, DRAG SHOWS, AND DANCE PERFORMANC. \NWILDFANG\NNEW YORK AND PORTALND AREN’T THE ONLY CI WH THE QUEER-OWNED FEMIST FASHN BRAND KNOWN AS WILDFANG. LOS ANGEL HAS S OWN BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORE THE HEART OF SILVER LAKE, ON THE BY SUNSET BOULEVARD. \N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":846026190},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":802,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":558,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"JUICY LEAF.","HEIGHT":802,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":802,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20792,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":1761036576},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"THE JUICY LEAF\NWHILE VISG L.A., ’S HARD NOT TO FALL LOVE WH THE CTI, SUCCULENTS, AND OTHER LORFUL PLANTS LEAPG OM THE CY’S GARNS. HIGHLAND PARK’S QUEER-OWNED BOUTIQUE, THE JUICY LEAF, SELLS A BRIGHT ASSORTMENT OF UNIQUE PLANTS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE URBAN GARNER. \NCELEBRATN THEATER\NCELEBRATN THEATER, NOW BASED AT THE LEX HOLLYWOOD, WAS FOUND 1982 BY MATTACHE SOCIETY -FOUNR CHARL ROWLAND AND HAS SCE PUT TOGETHER S OF PERFORMANC CLUDG THE ORIGAL NAKED BOYS SGG! AND A CRILLY-ACCLAIMED PRODUCTN OF BOYS FROM OZ.\NWILL ROGERS STATE BEACH\NWHILE MUCH OF LOS ANGEL’S QUEER LIFE IS BASED WT HOLLYWOOD, SILVER LAKE, AND DTLA, THE WT SI NTAS A SIGNIFINT QUEER POPULATN (AND SOME TERTG QUEER HISTORY)—BUT NO CURRENT FULL TIME QUEER TABLISHMENTS OR BARS. THE AREA DO HOWEVER, HAVE ’S OWN “UNOFFICIAL” GAY BEACH, NICKNAMED “GGER ROGERS BEACH” NEAR LIFEGUARD STATN 26 ON THE WI SAND BEACH, JT A SHORT DRIVE NORTH OF SANTA MONI.\N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":3368184126},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":899,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":498,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"VIEW OM GRIFFH PARK. ","HEIGHT":899,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":899,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20791,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":2421641376},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"ARTS & CULTURE \NONE NATNAL GAY & LBIAN ARCHIV AT THE USC LIBRARI\NTHE ONE ARCHIV AT USC HOLD THE LARGT LLECTN OF LGBTQ MATERIALS—BOOKS, PERDILS, CLOTHG, ARTWORKS, PHOTOGRAPHY, D RERDGS, VIOS, LETTERS, EPHEMERA, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE— THE WORLD. THE SPACE IS NAMED AFTER ONE MAGAZE, THE FIRST “NATNAL HOMOSEXUAL PERDIL” FOUND 1952. VIS TUDAY-SATURDAY AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THEIR SIBLG GALLERY SPACE WT HOLLYWOOD, ONE ARCHIV GALLERY AND MM, WHICH FEATUR TN IATIV AND THOUGHT PROVOKG EXHIBS. WHILE NOT ASSOCIATED WH ONE, WT HOLLYWOOD IS ALSO HOME TO THE  THE JUNE L. MAZER LBIAN ARCHIV.\NLACMA\NLOS ANGEL HAS AN CREDIBLE ASSORTMENT OF NTEMPORARY ART MMS HOSTG QUEER EXHIBS AND ARTISTS AND LOS ANGEL COUNTY MM OF ART IS NO EXCEPTN. HERE, MAPPLETHORP, HOCKNEYS, TOM OF FLANDS, EAKS, AND LIGONS HAVE CLEARED THE STAGE FOR CURRENT QUEER ARTISTS LIKE TERA LA TORRE, DEV GALDO, AND PL MPAGI SEPUYA TO SHOWSE THEIR NOVATIVE NTEMPORARY WORK. \NGRIFFH PARK\NAT 4,210 ACR (NEARLY FIVE CENTRAL PARKS!), GRIFFH PARK IS SAID TO BE ONE OF THE LARGT MUNICIPAL PARKS WH URBAN WILRNS AREAS THE UNTRY. THE MASSIVE PARK IS HOME TO MORE THAN 53 OF STEEP HIKG TRAILS, THE AUTRY MM OF THE AMERIN WT, THE GEO GRIFFH OBSERVATORY, AND S VERY OWN MOUNTA LN, P-22. THE PARK WAS EVEN THE SETTG OF A “GAY-” MONSTRATN ANIZED 1970 BY THE GROUP THE GAY LIBERATN FRONT.\N \NQUEER NIGHTLIFE
• LOS ANGEL GAY BARS
• 52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL
• GAY BARS DOWNTOWN LOS ANGEL
• LOS ANGEL GAY CISE CLUBS

THE BT GAY CISG SPOTS LOS ANGEL

Utterly breathtakg, this inic tablishment was crowned LOGO's "Bt Gay Bar the World, " makg a mt-see LA’s gay nightlife scene. When opened 1973, Jewel’s Catch One was the natn’s first black gay and lbian dis. 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.

THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL

A low-key, cise-y dive bar Mother Lo claims to be the olst gay bar Wt Hollywood. Opened at 4th and Broadway May 2015, Precct scrib self as a "rock n roll gay bar" Downtown L. Fans wept when Roosterfish, the Wtsi’s olst gay bar, closed 2016.

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

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. But ’s the perfect space to grab a workday bnch wh a lleague or for -workg ssns -hosted on Tudays wh Gay Asstrology.

The origal Downtown gay bar, Jalis is a dive bar that ters to the Latx and Mexin LGBTQ muny. 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.

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

It’s the perfect place for gay men to meet on the Eastsi. Andrew Ahn’s father once told him that there were “no gay people Korea.

In a culturally nservative muny, where gog to church and buildg a fay were heavily emphasized, Ahn felt his gay inty kept him “om beg able to participate Korean culture. ” Then, he started equentg GAMeBoi, a weekly Asian Amerin gay party at Wt Hollywood’s Rage Nightclub.

QUEER NEIGHBORHOODS\NMY FAVORE ASPECT OF LOS ANGEL’ QUEER LIFE IS S ABILY TO ACODATE A VARIETY OF SUBCULTUR AND PASSNS DUE TO S ENORMO POPULATN AND WI NSTELLATNS OF NEIGHBORHOODS. WHILE QUEER LIFE IS CENTERED WT HOLLYWOOD, SILVER LAKE, AND DOWNTOWN, PULS THROUGHOUT THE CY BETIFUL, DIVERSE, AND CREATIV WAYS. YOU’LL NEED MORE THAN A FEW LIFETIM TO EXPERIENCE ALL, BUT HERE ARE A FEW STANDOUTS. \NWT HOLLYWOOD\NHOME TO OVER TWENTY GAY BARS WALKG DISTANCE, A PLETHORA OF QUEER-OWNED BS,  LA PRI FTIVAL AND PARA, OUTFT, A HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL, AND OVER A THIRD OF RINTS INTIFIYG AS LGBTQ+, THE CY OF WT HOLLYWOOD IS PATED WH RABOW STREET CROSSGS YEAR ROUND. IT’S NO WONR “WEHO” HAS BEEN A TOP LGBTQ+ WELG STATN SCE THE 1970S AND NTU TO DRAW TRAVELERS AND NEW RINTS OM AROUND THE WORLD. \NSILVER LAKE\NTHOUGH STONEWALL IS LARGELY CREDED WH CG THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, LOS ANGEL HAS A FEW HISTORIL LGBTQ+ UPRISGS THAT PREDATE THE INN’S 1969 RTS, CLUDG THE BLACK CAT RAIDS AND PROTTS SILVER LAKE THAT TOOK PLACE 1967. THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS LONG BEEN AN EPICENTER FOR QUEER CULTURE— WAS HOME TO “AMERI’S FIRST CELEBRATED DRAG PERFORMER,” JULIAN ELTGE, THE 1910S/20S, THE MATTACHE SOCIETY (SAID TO BE AMERI’S FIRST GAY ORANIZATN, T. 1950), AS WELL AS A PREVALENT 80S LEATHER SCENE. THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S QUEER HEART STILL BEATS STRONGLY SPE GENTRIFITN AS MANY QUEER-OWNED BS NTUE TO THRIVE. \NDOWNTOWN LA\NDTLA HAS RECENTLY TABLISHED SELF AS AN UP-AND-G QUEER NEIGHBORHOOD SCE A HANDFUL OF QUEER-OWNED BS AND BARS OPENED 2015, BUT S QUEER HISTORY IS LONG AND STORIED, CLUDG SOME OF THE FIRST LGBTQ+ RTS THE UNTRY AT COOPER DO-NUTS 1959, AS WELL AS A LLECTN OF GAY-IENDLY HANGOUTS AND CISG LOL PERISHG SQUARE LLED “THE RUN” PREVALENT OM THE 20S TO THE 60S. THE LOFTY NEIGHBORHOOD EVEN PUTS ON ’S OWN PRI FTIVAL, DTLA PROUD, EVERY AUGT. \N \NBT PLAC TO STAY\NACE HOTEL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGEL\NTHERE ARE A HANDFUL OF NEW HOTELS SPRGG UP DOWNTOWN, BUT THE ACE REMAS ONE OF THE MOST QUEER-IENDLY, WH S PRI POOL PARTI, SOCIALS, AND S STUNNG PROGRAMMG AT THE 1927 GOTHIC-STYLE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL, WHERE PERFORMERS LIKE SASCHA VELOUR, BIAN DEL R, KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA, AND MANY MORE HAVE PERFORMED SOLO SHOWS TO SOLD OUT DIENC.\NPALIHOE WT HOLLYWOOD\NSTEPS AWAY OM THE REVELRY ON NEARBY SANTA MONI BOULEVARD, THE BOUTIQUE 37-ROOM PALIHOE WT HOLLYWOOD IS A TE REFUGE THE HEART OF ONE OF THE WORLDS LARGT GAYBORHOODS. THE HOTEL HAS HANDSOME TERRS, A SUN-DRENCHED ROOFTOP WH WI VIEWS OF LOS ANGEL, AS WELL AS AN ELEGANT BAR.\NAIRBNBS SILVER LAKE\NFEEL LIKE A LOL AND RENT A BUNGALOW SILVER LAKE. BIS THEIR FAIRLY CENTRAL LOTN THE CY BETWEEN DTLA AND WT HOLLYWOOD, YOU’LL BE CLOSE TO HIP STOR, QUEER HISTORY, AND LIVELY BARS LIKE AKBAR.\N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":2479282491},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":802,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":558,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"CUTI. ","HEIGHT":802,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":802,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20790,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":1184216763},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"QUEER-OWNED BS \NCUTI\NCUTI, A TWO-STORY FFEE SHOP AND MUNY CENTER EAST HOLLYWOOD MAY BE ONE OF THE ONLY BRICK-AND-MORTAR QUEER F THE STAT AND IS A GREAT PLACE TO MEET PEOPLE BEYOND THE BARS AND CLUBS OF THE GREATER LOS ANGEL AREA. THE BRIGHTLY L ART DE TERR ALSO HAS A FEW SHELV HOLDG A SMALL BUT POWERFUL LIBRARY OF QUEER THEORY AND LERATURE—THE SPACE ALSO HOSTS QUEER BOOK CLUBS, SOCIALS, AND OTHER EVENTS. \NCASA DEL CAMPO\NSILVER LAKE’S CASA DEL CAMPO HAS BEEN AROUND SCE 1962 AND HAS BEE A QUEER LANDMARK SCE WAS ONCE SURROUND BY BATH HO AND LEATHER BARS. BIS S HEARTY CAL-TEX MENU (AND HEAVY POUR MARGARAS) ’S KNOWN FOR S BARET THEATRE, THE CAVERN CLUB THEATER, WHICH PUTS ON MPY PLAYS, DRAG SHOWS, AND DANCE PERFORMANC. \NWILDFANG\NNEW YORK AND PORTALND AREN’T THE ONLY CI WH THE QUEER-OWNED FEMIST FASHN BRAND KNOWN AS WILDFANG. LOS ANGEL HAS S OWN BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORE THE HEART OF SILVER LAKE, ON THE BY SUNSET BOULEVARD. \N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":846026190},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":802,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":558,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"JUICY LEAF.","HEIGHT":802,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":802,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20792,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":1761036576},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"THE JUICY LEAF\NWHILE VISG L.A., ’S HARD NOT TO FALL LOVE WH THE CTI, SUCCULENTS, AND OTHER LORFUL PLANTS LEAPG OM THE CY’S GARNS. HIGHLAND PARK’S QUEER-OWNED BOUTIQUE, THE JUICY LEAF, SELLS A BRIGHT ASSORTMENT OF UNIQUE PLANTS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE URBAN GARNER. \NCELEBRATN THEATER\NCELEBRATN THEATER, NOW BASED AT THE LEX HOLLYWOOD, WAS FOUND 1982 BY MATTACHE SOCIETY -FOUNR CHARL ROWLAND AND HAS SCE PUT TOGETHER S OF PERFORMANC CLUDG THE ORIGAL NAKED BOYS SGG! AND A CRILLY-ACCLAIMED PRODUCTN OF BOYS FROM OZ.\NWILL ROGERS STATE BEACH\NWHILE MUCH OF LOS ANGEL’S QUEER LIFE IS BASED WT HOLLYWOOD, SILVER LAKE, AND DTLA, THE WT SI NTAS A SIGNIFINT QUEER POPULATN (AND SOME TERTG QUEER HISTORY)—BUT NO CURRENT FULL TIME QUEER TABLISHMENTS OR BARS. THE AREA DO HOWEVER, HAVE ’S OWN “UNOFFICIAL” GAY BEACH, NICKNAMED “GGER ROGERS BEACH” NEAR LIFEGUARD STATN 26 ON THE WI SAND BEACH, JT A SHORT DRIVE NORTH OF SANTA MONI.\N","MARKER":{"NAME":"","IMAGE":{},"SCRIPTN":"","NTENT":[]},"ID":3368184126},{"TYPE":"SLISHOW","IMAG":[{"RETAHEIGHT":899,"MOBILESRC":","SRC":","MOBILEWIDTH":498,"SQUARELARGEHEIGHT":640,"WIDTH":1200,"PTN":"VIEW OM GRIFFH PARK. ","HEIGHT":899,"SQUARELARGEWIDTH":640,"SQUAREHUGE":","RETASRC":","MOBILEHEIGHT":373,"ALT":"","SQUARESMALL":","RETAWIDTH":1200,"SQUAREHUGEHEIGHT":899,"SQUARESMALLHEIGHT":320,"SQUAREMEDIUM":","SQUAREMEDIUMWIDTH":480,"SQUAREMEDIUMHEIGHT":480,"ID":20791,"SQUARESMALLWIDTH":320,"SQUARELARGE":","SQUAREHUGEWIDTH":960}],"ID":2421641376},{"TYPE":"PARAGRAPH","NTENT":"ARTS & CULTURE \NONE NATNAL GAY & LBIAN ARCHIV AT THE USC LIBRARI\NTHE ONE ARCHIV AT USC HOLD THE LARGT LLECTN OF LGBTQ MATERIALS—BOOKS, PERDILS, CLOTHG, ARTWORKS, PHOTOGRAPHY, D RERDGS, VIOS, LETTERS, EPHEMERA, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE— THE WORLD. THE SPACE IS NAMED AFTER ONE MAGAZE, THE FIRST “NATNAL HOMOSEXUAL PERDIL” FOUND 1952. VIS TUDAY-SATURDAY AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THEIR SIBLG GALLERY SPACE WT HOLLYWOOD, ONE ARCHIV GALLERY AND MM, WHICH FEATUR TN IATIV AND THOUGHT PROVOKG EXHIBS. WHILE NOT ASSOCIATED WH ONE, WT HOLLYWOOD IS ALSO HOME TO THE  THE JUNE L. MAZER LBIAN ARCHIV.\NLACMA\NLOS ANGEL HAS AN CREDIBLE ASSORTMENT OF NTEMPORARY ART MMS HOSTG QUEER EXHIBS AND ARTISTS AND LOS ANGEL COUNTY MM OF ART IS NO EXCEPTN. HERE, MAPPLETHORP, HOCKNEYS, TOM OF FLANDS, EAKS, AND LIGONS HAVE CLEARED THE STAGE FOR CURRENT QUEER ARTISTS LIKE TERA LA TORRE, DEV GALDO, AND PL MPAGI SEPUYA TO SHOWSE THEIR NOVATIVE NTEMPORARY WORK. \NGRIFFH PARK\NAT 4,210 ACR (NEARLY FIVE CENTRAL PARKS!), GRIFFH PARK IS SAID TO BE ONE OF THE LARGT MUNICIPAL PARKS WH URBAN WILRNS AREAS THE UNTRY. THE MASSIVE PARK IS HOME TO MORE THAN 53 OF STEEP HIKG TRAILS, THE AUTRY MM OF THE AMERIN WT, THE GEO GRIFFH OBSERVATORY, AND S VERY OWN MOUNTA LN, P-22. THE PARK WAS EVEN THE SETTG OF A “GAY-” MONSTRATN ANIZED 1970 BY THE GROUP THE GAY LIBERATN FRONT.\N \NQUEER NIGHTLIFE

He learned to embrace beg both Korean and gay, so much so that he directed “Fire Island, ” a groundbreakg queer Asian Amerin rom- released last year. Beg Asian Amerin and LGBTQ+ n feel lonely, wh stutns such as ethnic church often disavowg non-heterosexual relatnships while tradnal LGBTQ+ spac such as gay bars n be unwelg to people of lor. “Fdg plac like GAMeBoi, where beg queer and Asian do -exist … It’s not like a 1, 000-year-old Korean cultural rual, but I uld create a new rual, ” said Ahn, a recent Friday, hundreds packed QT Nightlife’s monthly K-Pop Night at Micky’s, a Wt Hollywood gay club a block or so east om the old GAMeBoi posed for selfi a pk Barbie box wh dis balls hangg overhead.

” (Michael Owen Baker / For The Tim) Even historilly gay neighborhoods like Wt Hollywood or San Francis’s Castro district, Asian Amerins have long been ignored or fetishized, seen as feme and weak. In 2019, then-Wt Hollywood Mayor John Duran argued that he did not appropriately touch a member of the Gay Men’s Chos of Los Angel bee “he’s a skny Korean kid wh pimpl on his cheek.

” Asian Amerin advocy groups cricized Duran’s remark, wh API Equaly-LA potg to the long history of discrimatn agast Asian men gay muni such as Wt Hollywood, whose clubs “ed to require three forms of photo intifitn om anyone they perceived as Asian.

LOS ANGEL GAY BARS

” said Crisman, a 36-year-old gay Korean Amerin rearcher and artist.

On this night, he had brought some female high school iends who wanted to experience the gay clubbg scene. Four inic Los Angel gay bars, toutg a bed history of 130 years, have permanently closed durg the panmic and many more have warned that they are on the brk of as nightlife gradually returns, some of the remag queer bars across southern California have rorted to crowdfundg a last-dch effort to stay afloat, warng that Covid-19 may brg about the end of historic stutns that have weathered the Aids crisis and multiple enomic panmic has permanently closed more than 100, 000 bars and rtrants across the Uned Stat but LA, which has been unr some form of lockdown rtrictns sce last March, the impact on nightclubs has been particularly LGBTQ+ bars shuttered Wt Hollywood last year, cludg Rage, a legendary nightclub that closed after 37 years, and Gold Coast, a 39-year-old dive bar down the street on Santa Moni boulevard.

52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL

Then January, as LA bee one of the worst Covid hotspots the natn, Oil Can Harry’s, a beloved gay untry bar Stud Cy, said was closg for good after half a century of hostg queer le dancg. ”Before Covid, gay bars were already disappearg LA and other US ci due to risg rents and gentrifitn, and as onle queer datg and hookup apps grew populary. The venu most at risk of closg are often penntly owned and ter to more unrreprented groups, cludg Black and Lato muni, trans and genr-nonnformg crowds and workg-class neighborhoods, rearch has of the LA bars that are stgglg are loted outsi of the Wt Hollywood scene, which is known for terg to whe gay male crowds and is more touristy, wh owners turng to GoFundMe to make through the crisis.

”Precct has long had an unpretent vibe that ma more fortable than many gay bars, Meatball said: “It’s dgy, smells like old alhol when you walk , and there’s somethg so fortg about this dark, seedy place – gay people love that stuff.

”New Jalis, also downtown, is one of the longt-nng Lato gay bars the regn, n by an immigrant uple who transformed to an LGBTQ+ venue the 1990s. ”Some of the Akbar owners’ younger iends and longtime patrons eventually nvced them to try crowdfundg before sellg their property and closg down, said Peter Alexanr, -owner: “It’s much more important than my own personal fancial wellbeg – all the plac are more than jt gay bars.

GAY BARS DOWNTOWN LOS ANGEL

The succs of the mpaign energized other queer bars to try to seek aid om supporters, though some say their bts are still signifintly greater than the donatns they’ve Alpuche, owner of Redle, a downtown gay bar, timated that the panmic has left him wh nearly $400, 000 of bt, part bee he has had to ntue payg for licens and perms. ”For the performers and gig workers who relied on gay bars to make ends meet, their return n’t e soon enough.

This moment, he add, remd him of the Aids crisis when gay clubs beme a ghost town until they eventually bounced back the 90s: “This jt ret everythg … I know we’ll e back. Home to over twenty gay bars walkg distance, a plethora of queer-owned bs, LA Pri Ftival and Para, Outft, a Halloween Carnival, and over a third of rints intifiyg as LGBTQ+, the Cy of Wt Hollywood is pated wh rabow street crossgs year round.

LOS ANGEL GAY CISE CLUBS

Though Stonewall is largely creded wh cg the gay rights movement, Los Angel has a few historil LGBTQ+ uprisgs that predate the Inn’s 1969 rts, cludg The Black Cat raids and protts Silver Lake that took place 1967. The neighborhood has long been an epicenter for queer culture— was home to “Ameri’s first celebrated drag performer, ” Julian Eltge, the 1910s/20s, the Mattache Society (said to be Ameri’s first gay oranizatn, t. DTLA has recently tablished self as an up-and-g queer neighborhood sce a handful of queer-owned bs and bars opened 2015, but s queer history is long and storied, cludg some of the first LGBTQ+ rts the untry at Cooper Do-Nuts 1959, as well as a llectn of gay-iendly hangouts and cisg lol Perishg Square lled “The Run” prevalent om the 20s to the 60s.