Laguna Art Mm looks back on town's gay bar scene - Los Angel Tim

Contents:

• GAY BARS LAGUNA BEACH
• GAY LAGUNA TRI TO EMERGE
• GAY NIGHTLIFE LAGUNA BEACH
• REMEMBERG A LEGACY OF GAY BARS
• LAGUNA ART MM LOOKS BACK ON TOWN’S GAY BAR SCENE
•  CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• THE RISE AND FALL OF LAGUNA BEACH, A GAY CALIFORNIA HOTSPOT
•  CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• LAGUNA ART MM LOOKS BACK ON TOWN’S GAY BAR SCENE

GAY BARS LAGUNA BEACH

Thankfully the world has evolved and although gay bars will always be need, wanted and loved, ’s now not unnscnable for everyone, no matter of who they love, to party, drk and enjoy the night together, unr the same roof.

There was a time when Laguna Beach had s staple gay bars, which were a much need prence durg their reign of the beach cy, and s very possible that the future, more will make their way back to Laguna Beach, but until then, the cy is filled wh optns galore. In 1926, a liquor store and a hardware store opened on the rner of Pearl Street and Pacific Coast Highway, and 1946 beme s current namake The Seahorse, which was actually Laguna Beach’s first gay bar. For many years, operated as a secret waterg hole for the lol gay muny until was eventually turned back to retail as Laguna Auto Parts…and now ’s back to s origal roots.

The origal Seahorse opened 1946, unofficially known as Laguna’s first gay bar. Gay owned and operated, this rtrant and nightclub is loted the historic downtown Arts District. Map of Gay Bars Laguna Beach.

GAY LAGUNA TRI TO EMERGE

Laguna Beach’s inic gay bar, the Boom Boom Room, closed s doors on Labor Day 2007. It was, arguably, the end of clubbg Laguna – gay or straight.

Bee the gay muny had largely left Laguna for Palm Sprgs and other hipper areas.

For Cooley, and perhaps the larger gay muny, ’s ls about the past and more about embracg a new future.

GAY NIGHTLIFE LAGUNA BEACH

But he also knows that ’s not about quanty but qualy: “Make Laguna gay aga is not our mantra.

REMEMBERG A LEGACY OF GAY BARS

Text 'GAYTRAVEL' to 1-800-GAY-TRAVEL (1-800-429-8728). — Travel Guis wh a Gay Perspective.

Laguna Beach has a few gay bars and clubs that make the gay nightlife an excg adventure.

For s, Laguna Beach had a large gay bar on Ma Beach and later the Boom Boom Room at the Coast Inn. Luckily a gay man owns our much smaller and only remag gay bar, the Bounce, and has ma recent chang wh more improvements g. Ma Beach was home to the big “gay” bar, Dant, which would orr 500 s of Budweiser alone for holiday weekends.

LAGUNA ART MM LOOKS BACK ON TOWN’S GAY BAR SCENE

Legend has that Michael Michaels, the wonrful owner of the Ltle Shrimp, asked Carl Smh and his wife to dner and told them they should turn the South Seas bar at the Coast Inn to a gay bar bee unlike the Shrimp, was big enough to acmodate the gays. He had been a prs agent for Judy Garland and cleverly spread the word that the South Seas was turng gay on a summer, holiday weekend.

 CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

John sold to two gay men and over the years people me om around the world to go to Wt Street Beach and the Boom Boom Room. So for s, even when Laguna had half the populatn has now, thoands om the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny traveled to Laguna and spent lns and got a tan at the beach and a beer at our statn gay bar and stayed overnight at hotels all over town.

(Don Kelsen / Los Angel Tim) The beats of the old Boom Boom Room once dropped right to the hearts of the gay muny Laguna who n remember the old ways will look to relive their glory days through an event Saturday eveng at Laguna Art Mm.

THE RISE AND FALL OF LAGUNA BEACH, A GAY CALIFORNIA HOTSPOT

“The mm has been here for over 100 years now, and ’s always kd of been a place that the gay muny n e to, ” Daniel Stachowski, public programs ordator for the mm, said.

“In the 1980s, we had a fundraiser for the AIDS crisis, and we’re ntug that legacy of beg supportive for the LGBTQ+ muny by havg the pri events here Laguna, which was for the longt time a safe haven for the gay muny to e and be who they are. An entire block of South Coast Highway hosted gay bars, the most famo perhaps beg the r Boom Boom Room, which served s last drk 15 years ago as folks danced on the bar and the crowd went wild. The Anchor Le is the last of Laguna’s vtage gay bars, a fixture sce 1958.

 CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

“My brother Jimmy bought this bar 18 years ago to save what was left of gay Laguna, ” said sister Wendy Nelson, stg at the bar the dim afternoon light.

LAGUNA ART MM LOOKS BACK ON TOWN’S GAY BAR SCENE

Bs was tough even before COVID, as Laguna’s land valu skyrocketed and much of s gay muny moved east to the Palm Sprgs area.