Le Cafe · Gay History Nevada and Las Vegas, 1969-2009, by Dennis McBri, Crystal Van Dee, and Pl Ershler · OutHistory

Contents:

• GAY HISTORY NEVADA AND LAS VEGAS, 1969-2009, BY DENNIS MCBRI, CRYSTAL VAN DEE, AND PL ERSHLER
• MARGE JACQU OPENS THE FIRST OPENLY GAY BAR LAS VEGAS - PRI MONTH
• GAY BARS LAS VEGAS 
• FIRST GAY BAR THE LAS VEGAS ARTS DISTRICT OPENS DURG PANMIC
• GAY LAS VEGAS
• BT GAY CLUBS LAS VEGAS

GAY HISTORY NEVADA AND LAS VEGAS, 1969-2009, BY DENNIS MCBRI, CRYSTAL VAN DEE, AND PL ERSHLER

Club Paris and Le Bistro held their grand openg on January 10, 1969 and quickly beme a favore hangout for Las Vegas' gay muny, particularly the show crowd om the Strip. Marge's club was unique bee she opened publicly as a gay bar, which had never been done Las Vegas before. Both Maxe's and the Red Barn, two other gay bars operatg at the time, were low-key and closeted—but Le Café was gay out loud.

The club's motto, prted on matchbooks and t-shirts, was "Glter and Be Gay at Le Café! " a motto which perfectly reflected 1970s gay dis glamour. It was through Marge Jacqu and Le Café that the Las Vegas gay muny first found s voice.

Gay Not om Le Caféwas the first gay publitn Las Vegas.

MARGE JACQU OPENS THE FIRST OPENLY GAY BAR LAS VEGAS - PRI MONTH

Openly gay herself, Marge appeared on a lol NBC televisn news show 1976, taped the livg room of her own hoe, and she was the ntact for a two-part Las Vegas Review-Journal seri on gay people Las Vegas 1977. Marge was mand as a lecturer on gay people and gay life and addrsed groups at the Universy of Nevada, Las Vegas and Nellis Air Force Base. It was never termed beyond doubt who burned Marge's club, although mor the gay muny had that she was burned out by the owner of a bar down the street at 4310 Paradise Road lled Prelu.

For the next five years Marge operated a number of other gay bars Las Vegas cludg the Other Place at 5410 Paradise Road and the Village Statn, which beme the Gipsy 1981.

GAY BARS LAS VEGAS 

The nightclub me alive at night wh drag, Punk, and New Wave shows, while the rtrant si hosted meetgs of groups and anizatns both straight and gay. The menu featured dish named after famo gay people such as Jam Dean Hot Cak and the Bsie Smh Platter. Its East Dert Inn lotn worked agast bee was too remote om the Paradise Road/Napl area known as the F Loop; Marge was aimg for a high-end clientele that didn't exist Las Vegas then; and the bar owners the F Loop, angry wh Marge's petn, spread mors that the ps were followg gay people om the F Loop on their way to Dis Le Café and ticketg them on tmped-up DUIs.

FIRST GAY BAR THE LAS VEGAS ARTS DISTRICT OPENS DURG PANMIC

Gay (May 10, 1971), 9; Las Vegas Review-Journal (July 31, 1977), 1B; (Augt 7, 1977, 1C; Jacqu terview; Searl terview.

Panorama (October 24, 1975), 16; (May 14, 1976), 42, 43-44; Vegas Gay Tim (October 1978), 1-2; (June 1979), 1; Las Vegas Review-Journal (Augt 25, 1978), 6B; Las Vegas Sun (Augt 25, 1978), 33; McBri journal, Augt 12 and 30, 1977 [thor’s llectn]. Las Vegas Mirror (March 10, 1978), 38-39; Vegas Gay Tim (September 1978), 2; (October 1978), sert; (Febary 1979), sert; (Augt 1979), 6; (January 1980), 8; (September 1980), 2, 8; (October 1980), 5; Other Place fancial rerds [Marge Jacqu Collectn, UNLVSC MS #2001-22].

GAY LAS VEGAS

Nevada Gay Tim (September 1983), sert; (November 1983), 4, 5, 7; (December 1983), 7; (January 1984), 3; (Febary 1984, 5, 6, 14); (March 1984), 15; Dert Gaze (December 1983), 15; (January 1984), 12; (Febary 1984), 10; Las Vegas Mirror (March 9, 1984), 5. Nevada Gay Tim (May 1984), 4; Jacqu terview; Young terview; McBri journal, April 12, 1984 [thor’s llectn]. The history of Las Vegas’s LGBTQ+muny n be told through the history of s lbian and gay bars — Maxe’s, The Red Barn, Le Café, Snick’s, and many others.

BT GAY CLUBS LAS VEGAS

None holds the history of gay Vegas though que like Gipsy, loted the heart of the “F Loop” at Paradise and Napl. Born as a seri of swank Italian rtrants owned by the lik of Robert Goulet and Don Rickl, the club emerged to the gay nightclub scene the late 1970s as Dis Fever, party central for the pre-AIDS bacchanalia of dgs, sex and dis balls.

1, 1980, helmed by the lorful and ntroversial Marge Jacqu, former owner of the popular gay rtrant club, Le Café.

and Le Café was the first gay bar to openly allow same-genr dancg. Gay historian Dennis McBri wrote that “the Las Vegas gay muny first found s voice” at Le Café.