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It was an underground space, a beer cellar. The ones that really surprise people are the most historic ones-like the Vault at Pfaff, where Walt Whitman went. Some favorites are the Roxy, Crisco Disco, and the Mine Shaft, and we always end with Stonewall. And we try and have a guest speaker to talk from a first hand account. We try to cover different types of places-gay dance clubs, leather scene, piano bars, Rose's Turn, the old Duplex space. It's more of a walking conversation than a tour. Michael: The point of the walk is to share memories. What are your 'Gay Bars That Are Gone' walks walks like? Are they like séances?
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I think there's a resurgence to build relationships with people who were there at the time or with younger people who share an interest in that time. Word spread that if you want to experience what the community was like, go there. I love older spaces and things from a different time. I heard, "It's for the older crowd." But I was curious. Michael: Yes, the oldest currently operating. Julius (in the Village) is the oldest place, right?
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#WEST VILLAGE GAY BARS NYC FULL#
Kyle: My favorite is probably the Ninth Circle (a fab West 10 th Street steakhouse-turned-gay-bar full of leather clones, twinks, hustlers, and celebrity drop-ins, all either cruising, playing pool, doing drugs, or rubbing against each other.) The location was so great-Mapplethorpe, Warhol and Lou Reed were all there in the late '60s. Once a year-for three years in a row-they've done Gay Bars That Are Gone, an informative walk as part of Jane Jacobs festival, in May. By day, Kyle does comedy, historic restoration, and works for Wilsonart, while Michael is involved with TED (as in TED Talks). To learn more about the places we miss, I turned to Kyle Supley and Michael Ryan, who specialize in documenting the formative days of bar hopping. Definitely worth checking out.There will always be gay bars, but will they be as vivid, sexy, and subversive as the haunts of yore? The history of NYC nightlife is studded with the memories of fascinating boîtes that attracted gays in desperate need of connection, then ultimately fell away as newer spots and trends emerged. Rockbar is off a lot of the LGBTQ community’s radar, which makes it a little more interesting than most Village bars…you never quite know what you’ll find there. Way down Christopher Street, toward the river, is this remote but worthy hangout for drag shows, RuPaul’s Drag Race viewings, Musical Mondays, and bear parties.
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114 Christopher Street (between Bedford and Bleecker Streets) Rockbar Even in bars, they’re generally looking at their phones!) One thing that hasn’t changed since the ’70s, though, is that you’ll rarely find a drag queen there, so Ty’s serves as a sort of fascinating palate cleanser between lip-synch extravaganzas elsewhere. (Few people go to bars to hook up anymore they simply go to their apps. Now it’s evolved into just a casual neighborhood bar without much of a sexual charge to it. This small, long-running lounge across the street from the Hangar was a big pickup place for leather queens and other macho types way back in the 1970s, when post-Stonewall sexual liberation kicked in big time. Photo courtesy of Cubbyhole Bar NYC/Facebook Ty’s 53 Christopher Street (between Seventh Avenue South and Waverly Place) Amid all the levity, a wonderful sense of history hangs in the air, as opposed to most other bars, where it's primarily air freshener. Yes, it’s still there! And it’s landmarked! The two-level place is a busy, buzzy, unpretentious hangout, with events like Monday’s Drag Bingo with Kenny Dash, Tuesday’s drag contest called Polish the Queen, and crowded Saturday night dance parties. As part of the festivities, here are 10 West Village bars to check out, each one a perfect place to party on this monumental occasion. This June 28 marks the 50 th anniversary of that day, and NYC will be filled with all manner of celebrations and activities throughout the month, especially on Pride Day, June 30. As a result, the community continued to organize, fight back, and grow in visibility through the years. At the Stonewall Inn in New York’s West Village, when the cops were conducting one of their customary abusive raids of a gay bar, the customers rebelled, leading to the legendary Stonewall riots-anti-oppression demonstrations that gave the queer community a valuable sense of unity and strength. On June 28, 1969, the LGBTQ community fought back and changed everything.