San Diego's Gay Bar History | KPBS Public Media

Contents:

• THE 5 BEST SAN DIEGO GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SAN DIEGO
• GAY NIGHTLIFE SAN DIEGO: BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
• SAN DIEGO'S GAY BAR HISTORY
• AFTER 58 YEARS, ’S LAST LL FOR THE CALIPH, ONE OF SAN DIEGO’S LONGT-NNG GAY BARS
• SAN DIEGO’S GAY BAR HISTORY: REFLECTNS ON COMMUNY HISTORY AND THE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROCS
• SAN DIEGO GAY MAP
• SAN DIEGO GAY SNAS

THE 5 BEST SAN DIEGO GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SAN DIEGO

At the wtern end is Urban MO's Bar & Grill, a "hetero-iendly gay bar" and lol favore. Consired the world's first and only gay-owned brewery, 's a great spot to grab a pizza or two and make iends at a munal table, while enjoyg the many beers on tap.

It was once voted one of the bt gay bars Ameri by Yelp. Wh ep red walls and chanliers, SRO Lounge is a legendary gay bar that livers a glam but laid-back vibe.

GAY NIGHTLIFE SAN DIEGO: BARS, CLUBS, & MORE

9 plac sorted by traveler favorGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissWhat travelers are saygDoug MCalgary, Canada579 ntributnsWish we had found Mo’s earlier our trip. The San Diego gay nightlife scene manag that rare balance between beg remarkably iendly and also rife wh betiful people—'s pretty much a reflectn of this sunny Southern California cy. Gay bars have also been pretty stable here over the years, wh the most popular hangouts gog strong for a uple of s.

Most gay bars are the trendy Hillcrt neighborhood, jt northeast of Balboa Park and a short drive or b ri om downtown. Flicks: Along a strip of gay-oriented bs, Flicks gay vio bar has long been a hub of schmoozg and socializg. Martis Above Fourth: San Diego's favore gay baret, Martis featur some tremendoly talented performers—not jt piano and sgg, but edy, magic, and more.

SAN DIEGO'S GAY BAR HISTORY

Number One Fifth Avenue: A great all-around neighborhood gay bar, balanc an timate ambiance and iendly atmosphere whout the tired, divey feel that sometim domat smaller loung. Park & Rec: Set the space formerly occupied by the popular gay bar Bourbon Street, this is an expansive nightspot and rtrant that still draws plenty of LGBT folks and open-md revelers.

SRO Lounge: Known for s great jebox, long history the neighborhood, and a lotn that's much closer to downtown than the gay bars Hillcrt, the SRO has a strong followg among drag queens and their fans, but all kds tend to drop by here, albe not necsarily large numbers.

As a largely gay-iendly cy, San Diego has a good offerg of general mixed night clubs. Borr at the southern end of metro San Diego, the sprawlg cy of Tijuana, you'll fd several gay bars one.

AFTER 58 YEARS, ’S LAST LL FOR THE CALIPH, ONE OF SAN DIEGO’S LONGT-NNG GAY BARS

Rich's: As San Diego's five gay warehoe-style dis, this club offers a good-sized space wh an dtrial, circu-style vibe, and mic supplied by some of Southern California's most illtr DJs. The Brass Rail: The longt-nng gay bar San Diego, the Brass Rail serv cred for always fdg new ways to revent self for the current tim. Overall, San Diego is a welg and open-md cy, but you'll fd the heart of the cy's gay nightlife scene Hillcrt specifilly.

On KPBS TV / Stream now wh the PBS AppSce WWII, no ls than 135 gay bars have operated San Diego, and provid sanctuary for GLBT people to disver themselv and form muny.

SAN DIEGO’S GAY BAR HISTORY: REFLECTNS ON COMMUNY HISTORY AND THE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROCS

“San Diego's Gay Bar History” exam the rol bars have played across three major time perds: after WWII until the birth of the morn gay rights movement 1969; durg the 1970s and until the onset of HIV 1981; durg the AIDS epimic (1981-1995), and beyond. San Diego's Gay Bar History.

Through archival photographs, historic footage, and terviews wh bar owners, bartenrs and proment muny members, this documentary provis a glimpse to the rich history of San Diego's gay history and culture. Exterr photo of the Chee Chee Club, operated ntuoly sce 1941, and turned gay the 1970s.

However, lately ’s beg ls gay, acrdg to the long-time bartenr.

SAN DIEGO GAY MAP

This gay bar was where the Casbah is today.

It was a women’s bar, but women were not allowed to be bartenrs gay bars until about 1976.

SAN DIEGO GAY SNAS

Stream your favore PBS shows, create the perfect watchlist, nnect wh your lol statn, and more — anywhere you The Conversatn: "San Diego's Gay Bar History" is on Facebook. San Diego was home to same-sex upl as far back as the 19th century, but wasn’t until around World War II that gays and lbians started to e out of the shadows and fd plac to ll home. The Gayt Neighborhood of Them All.

The Hillcrt “Gayborhood“.

Durg World War II, the cy’s gay bars were maly downtown, where they tered to sailors.

But thgs changed dramatilly the 1970s as Hillcrt attracted LGBTQ people who sought cheap hog and were willg to fix up Victorian hom, a classic se of “gaytrifitn. ” The Brass Rail, meanwhile, led the vanguard of gay and lbian bars flockg to the “gayborhood” and nearby neighborhoods — North Park, Banker’s Hill, and Universy Heights. “Gayborhoods allow gays and lbians to fd one another for iendship and fellowship, sex, datg, and love, spe the ascendance of datg apps, ” said Am Ghaziani, thor of the book “There Go the Gayborhood?, ” a 2017 terview.

There has been a lot of talk about the cle of the classic “gayborhood” the Uned Stat.

A Voice of San Diego analysis of 2010 cens data found that lol gay male upl were still highly ncentrated Hillcrt and nearby neighborhoods. Bar None – Gay Waterg Hol to Remember. Gay bars are fairly rare the days: Only about a dozen are still open the cy of San Diego.

But our regn was home to many dozens of gay bars over the eight s sce World War II, acrdg to the 2018 KPBS documentary “San Diego’s Gay Bar History. In 1957, a straight man named Lou Arko bought the bar, then hoed the later-molished Orphm Theater downtown, and weled a gay clientele at night after bspeople went home. Organizers of the Gay Center for Social Servic gather at s Goln Hill headquarters 1973.