The gay bars along Route 66 may be gone, but they n live on our history books—and our photos.
Contents:
- GAY PARA, A ROUTE 66 LANDMARK THAT HOLDS A UNIQUE SPOT OZARKS HISTORY
- GARY'S GAY PARA
- WHERE IS GEE MAHARIS TODAY? DID GAY STIGMA DAMAGE HIS CAREER?
GAY PARA, A ROUTE 66 LANDMARK THAT HOLDS A UNIQUE SPOT OZARKS HISTORY
* gay route 66 *
Gay bars. While I traveled Route 66 wh the Natnal Tst om Chigo to Sprgfield, Missouri, I documented plac muni along the inic highway that historilly weled gay travelers. The subject of gay bars om the past really terts me.
Where I live New York Cy I lead a walkg tour about “gay bars that are gone” and people who attend share histori and sometim memori om LGBTQ spac, datg as far back as the 1870s.
The are spac where gay Amerins found joy, love, muny, and solidary the face of great social and polil adversy.
GARY'S GAY PARA
The story of Gary Turner and how he turned a dream to the Gay Para Gas Statn at Paris Junctn, Missouri, a Route 66 landmark and road trip attractn. * gay route 66 *
To document the “gay bars that are gone” of Route 66, I me wh a few important thgs my suse: two LGBTQ USA travel guis om the year 1966 (cintally) and a rabow flag. One was tled: "The Lavenr Baeker ‘66: A Guibook to Gay, Intertg, Hysteril, and Historic Plac the U. The other gui was a Damron Gui om 1966, which is an LGBTQ travel pany that still exists and has been publishg gay travel guis sce 1964.
This third edn Damron Gui chronicled more than 900 plac across the Uned Stat and Canada remend for gay travelers.
Asi om the dozens of gay bars servg Chigo, the first “gay bar that is gone” I me across was Esquire Cocktails Joliet, Illois, which existed 1966 at 211 North Chigo Street and, acrdg to the Damron Gui, served a mixed crowd while the “back part” was primarily for gay patrons. The addrs proved too difficult to lote, but the fact that there was a gay bar scene the relatively small cy of Joliet (famo for s 1858 prison) amazed me. Let’s remember what was happeng 1966 for gay Amerins: January 1966, Time magaze published a notor article on “The Homosexual Ameri, ” llg homosexualy “a pernic sickns"; gay and transgenr ctomers rted at Compton’s Cafeteria prottg police harassment San Francis; and New Yorkers staged a “sip-” prott at Juli bar Greenwhich Village, prottg discrimatory practic by the New York State Liquor Authory.
WHERE IS GEE MAHARIS TODAY? DID GAY STIGMA DAMAGE HIS CAREER?
Another Illois bar, Two Brothers also served both gay and straight patrons. Acrdg to The Lavenr Baeker, there was another gay bar Sprgfield lled Gee I Tavern, specifilly for gay men, at 212 N 5th St. Intertgly, a gay bar lled Smokey’s Den was not listed eher gui, but a lol told me was loted right off of Route 66 downtown Sprgfield.