Texas Bar History

El Jardin, The Role of Bars in the oldest gay bar . Texas Gay and in Texas, was established in -ceJr Lesbian History 1947 in San Antonio. Leo Harper, people thought it outlet for gay and lesbian social and politi- a co-owner of EI Jardin would fail because cal activity, Longstaff said. The first local By Thomas Rockman Jr., since 1982, said that the bar it targeted a mixed gay rights organization, the Dallas Alliance TRIANGLE stoff has always served as a social lesbian/gay male clien- for Individual Rights started in a bar, as well club and a place that people come to tele. as the Dallas Gay Political Caucus. And the According to Dallas gay historian Phil after work to relax with friends. Being out in "We still have people who want to seg- money to pay for attorneys who fought for Johnson, gays and lesbians' often forget that 1947 could cause someone to lose his or her regate us," said Elliott. "[But] on the whole, the repeal of the Texas anti-sodomy statute gay and lesbian bars prospered long before job, Harper said, but he believes that today's most guys and girls get along. We're all gay (the 21.06 penal code) was raised at a bar any queer organizations, churches, publica- more tolerant climate has decreased the no matter what sex we are." fundraiser. tions, choruses, bands, cheerleading squads, amount of gay-bashing. Richard Longstaff, owner of Union The purpose of the bars hasn't swim teams, and square dance groups Harper added, though, that certain other Jack since 1971, said that the biggest impact changed, Longstaff said, they continue to appeared on the scene. old-fashioned attitudes persist: "San Antonio that the bars have had has been political. provide a venue for fundraising and AIDS If not for the bars "our history would is still in some ways a small town. The vice As an example, Longstaff points to awareness. But individuals don't have to have been decidedly different," said Johnson, squad likes to pick on the newer [gay] bars. Ray Hardin, the late owner of Eighth Day rely on bars to meet people because a vari- "Thebars are our roots and our foundation. It They like to come in and hold flashlights bar, who was the first openly gay person to ety of organizations serve that purpose now. was from them that everything else sprang." under the bottles (to check for impurities). appear on Dallas TV. Hardin also created a "Back then, we had nothing to guide us Johnson pointed out that any discussion They'll have one guy stand at the door like a coalition of gay and lesbian bar owners who in our civil rights history," he said. of gay history needs to recognize the under- sentry-we're practically under house arrest worked on the first 1974 boycott of Coors . "Everything was done by trial and error. lying elements of American history, elements until they leave." "Because of [Hardin's] efforts," said Right now, everything has to do with image that have affected the lives of gays and les- Jo Elliott, the matriarch of Dallas bars Longstaff, "[now] most big companies . and coming out. The bars are big, clean, and bians. One of the most important events was since the mid-I 970s, said that the biggest spend more money on [gay] advertising and profitable and a colossal amount of money the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, change she's seen in the bar scene is the inte- donate more money to charity in the gay is spent in them." when working men and women moved en gration of lesbian and gay male clientele. community." masse to urban areas. It was in these urban Lesbians going to gay bars and gay men fre- In the early days the bars were areas that the seeds of gay and lesbian com- quenting lesbian bars was not common 20 the only munities were planted. years ago, she said. She recalled that when As gay people separated from their fam- Garry Monier (owner of the Crews Inn. in . ilies, they found that they could lose their Dallas) and the late Bob Strange opened a identities in large, metropolitan areas like drag show and dance bar called the Landing Dallas and Houston, Johnson said. (at Cedar Springs and Pearl) in the late 1970s "The bars were the first things that mid- dle American men from rural areas migrated to when they arrived at the urban centers," said Johnson. 'They wanted to be absorbed ~ into the gay culture." Maggie's Comer (at Commerce and AIbrrl) whprp n"II"" _(1a.v_in ••n_"Lth e._J~,)O" I>' '-.I1'-l-J.a.3 •• .l'-'••••...•••.a\'II.IIL.U'-l~~ l-"'-'1.3.3.... ~c::u.1 I"'1O.J.J.u •..••.••.••....• Lila" UIC uc:u.~ I.lave; 114U 11c1~ ~II pUI.1Ll ••...4J.. PIVVIUC; a v..:;;uuc; I.VI IUllUlal~1I1e. aJlU ~.L...IJ •• If not for the bars "our history would is still in some ways a small town. The vice As an example, Longstaff points to awareness. But individuals don't have to have been decidedly different," said Johnson, squad likes to pick on the newer [gay] bars. Ray Hardin, the late owner of Eighth Day rely on bars to meet people because a vari- "The bars are our roots and our foundation. It They like to come in and hold flashlights bar, who was the first openly gay person to ety of organizations serve that purpose now. was from them that everything else sprang." under the bottles (to check for impurities). appear on Dallas TV.. Hardin also created a "Back then, we had nothing to guide us Johnson pointed out that any discussion They'll have one guy stand at the door like a coalition of gay and lesbian bar owners who in our civil rights history," he said. of gay history needs to recognize the under- sentry-we're practically under house arrest worked on the first 1974 boycott of Coors. "Everything WaS done by trial and error. lying elements of American history, elements until they leave." "Because of [Hardin's] efforts," said Right now, everything has to do with image that have affected the lives of gays and les- Jo Elliott, the matriarch of Dallas bars Longstaff, "[now] most big companies and coming out. The bars are big, clean, and bians. One of the most important events was since the mid-1970s, said that the biggest spend more money on [gay] advertising and profitable and a colossal amount of money the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, change she's seen in the bar scene is the inte- donate more money to chanty in- the gay is spent in them." when working men and women moved en gration of lesbian and gay male clientele. community." masse to urban areas. It was in these urban Lesbians going to gay bars and gay men fre- In the early days the bars were areas that the seeds of gay and lesbian com- quenting lesbian bars was not common 20 the only munities were planted. years ago, she said. She recalled that when As gay people separated from their fam- Garry Monier (owner of the Crews Inn in ilies, they found that they could lose their Dallas) and the late Bob Strange opened a identities in large, metropolitan areas like drag show and dance bar called the Landing Dallas and Houston, Johnson said. (at Cedar Springs and Pearl) in the late 1970s "The bars were the first things that mid- dle American men from rural areas migrated to when they arrived at the urban centers," said Johnson. 'They wanted to be absorbed into the gay culture." Maggie's Comer (at Commerce and Akard), where Dallas gay men of the 1920s through the 1940s met and cruised, and the Milar Hotel.Bar (at Ervay and Wood) were the first two businesses to attract gay clien- tele. Along the north side of Elm Street, movie houses-the Majestic, the Palace, the Rialto, and the Queen-popped up to cater to the avant-garde tastes of the "belles" (a I920s-1940s term for gay men).

JR's on Cedar Sprin in Dallas during the 70's. Photo courtesy of Phil Johnson Historic Archives & Reasearch Library.

Heaven, one of the three Charles Armstrong Investments'clubs in Houston Another hot spot in Dallas during the 70's was Tex'sRanch. Photo courtesy of the Phil Johnson Historic Archives & Reasearch Library.

Top: Mary's Naturally, in Houston':'- , -(

ness in the last decades. 'Things have doors of Just Marion and Lynn's. Now the How Can We Know become a lot more open. When I started in site of Cousins, the bar was the founded by business, two guys dancing was illegal," he Marion Panzer, who met her untimely death Where We're Going said. defending her business (by then located on If We Don't Know' In We're under siegel-like fashion, a Richmond, now the Blue Iguana) in a warning light would flash, signaling that shootout with a hold-up man. Where We've Been? the cops were there. 'That's when you Two of Houston's leading lesbian grabbed a girl instead of a guy. They used to musicians, guitarist Kat Drake and drum" line people up on the wall; it was all very mer Robin Borthwick, recall their first club By Nancy Ford indiscriminate. They would say, 'Okay, experience at Just Marion and Lynn's in the TRIANGLE Staff you, you, you, and you- you're all drunk. early eighties. "I remember walking in for Come on, we're going downtown.' the first time and thinking, 'Wow, look at all In the beginning there was The Old Whatever they wanted to arrest you for,' these old dykes!'" Borthwick laughed. Plantation, the Farmhouse, the Galleon, the •ill they did," he said. "Now I'm one of them!" Red Room, Effie's Pink Elephant, The Off If you've visited a women's bar in Main, Just Marion and Lynn's, L'arnour La Houston in. the last 16 years, chances are Femme. Chances on Westheimer used to be MTha£swhen you you know Vicci Lindsey. Lindsey started a strip club. The adjacent New Barn once her bartending career in 1980 at Houston's was a silver shop. Trendy Empire Cafe grabbed a girl instead Lamppost, formerly located on Times serves latte and dessert where once Chutes, Boulevard in the Village. 'Those were the a leather disco, served something complete- of a guy. They used to days when you were either butch or femme; ly different. Today the Loading Dock is an no in-between." she remembers. At that antique shop. Numbers, once the progres- line people up on the time lesbians had the option of socializing sive dance haven for sweaty gay men is there, or at the drug-infested Twins, or at the I now Numbers, the alternative music venue wan; it was an very I dank Our Place on Richmond. Or they for sweaty omnisexual Gen X-ers. I indiscriminate ...~t could try getting served at one of the few I As David Bowie so succinctly put it, estrogen-tolerant men's bars. "Ch-ch-ch-changes. " - Ed Moniger, owner of Inside/Outside, 1972 Then carne Kindred Spirits. Lindsey In the twenty-eight years since the first sites this as turning point for Houston's gay brick was thrown at Stonewall Inn, the "I As gay and straight Houstonians alike women and their friends. A creation of complexion of the nation's gay and lesbian were enjoying unprecedented economic Houston activist Marion Coleman, KS was nightclubs have endured a number of health, Ed and his partner Jeff closed the first club in the city where women could facelifts: some purely for reasons of cos- Inside/Outside and opened Ell's Watering go to be with each other that "wasn't dark," metic enhancement, others. to repair the Hole in 1981. The little club on Richmond Lindsey said. That was at its first location emotional and economic ravages of AIDS. was formerly Sand Mountain, at that time a on Buffalo Speedway, which opened in The nightclubs of Montrose, Houston's coffee-house where a clear-eyed, youthful 1981, smack dab in the middle of the Texas' equivalent to NYC's Village and San Janis Joplin performed. "She only sang boom years. By this time, there was no Francisco's Castro, are no exception. there briefly, like for a two-week stint. They necessity for blinking lights to warn same- In 1972, Ed Moniger opened fired her because they said she'd never be sex dancers that a raid was imminent. Inside/Outside, now the site of Rascals, on able to draw a crowd," Moniger laughed. Hundreds of Ralph Lauren-clad profession- the Westheimer curve. Moniger can't help "At the. time, she probably couldn't. She al women, softball players and everyone in but see the change that has occurred in the was only sixteen," he added. Fortunately between learned to party together, finding bar busi- Sand Mountain had other unknown new- possibly for the first time in Houston, a real comers, like Willie Nelson and Kenny sense of cross-cultural female community. Rogers, to entertain the coffee-sipping A few years later Spirits (as it soon clientele. became known, because by the mid-eight- ! Recognizing a good thing when he ies the letters KS stood for something com- sees it, Moniger has continued the tradition pletely different) moved to a new location I of providing entertainment for his cus- in the Galleria area. A few years later, I tomers. In fact, E/l's is probably best Kindred Spirits closed its doors. It now known for its consistency in providing to houses an Aztec Party Rental outlet and a I local performers a venue and appreciative Mattress Factory. Ironic;....almost a decade encame Kindred Spmts.-Tiildsey In the twenty-eight years since the first sites this as turning point for Houston's gay brick was thrown at Stonewall Inn, the f As gay and straight Houstonians alike women and their friends. A creation of 1- complexion of the nation's gay and lesbian were enjoying unprecedented economic Houston activist Marion Coleman, KS was nightclubs have endured a number of r· health, Ed and his partner Jeff closed the first club in the city where women could IS facelifts: some purely for reasons of cos- ~. Inside/Outside and opened Ell's Watering go to be with each other that "wasn't dark," metic enhancement, others. to repair the Hole in 1981. The little club on Richmond Lindsey said. That was at its first location Ir. emotional and economic ravages of AIDS. ~e was formerly Sand Mountain, at that time a on Buffalo Speedway, which opened in The nightclubs of Montrose, Houston's ld coffee-house where a clear-eyed, youthful 1981, smack dab in the middle of the Texas' , equivalent to NYC's Village and San ~y Janis Joplin performed. "She only sang boom years. By this time, there was no Francisco's Castro, are no exception. there briefly, like for a two-week stint. They necessity for blinking lights to warn same, , In 1972, Ed Moniger opened . fired her because they said she'd never be sex dancers that a raid was imminent. Inside/Outside, now the site of Rascals, on able to draw a crowd," Moniger laughed. Hundreds of Ralph Lauren-clad profession- the Westheimer curve. Moniger can't help "At the. time, she probably couldn't. She al women, softball players and everyone in but see the change that has occurred in the was only sixteen," he added. Fortunately between learned to party together, finding bar busi- Sand Mountain had other unknown new- possibly for the first time in Houston, a real comers, like Willie Nelson and Kenny, sense of cross-cultural female community. Rogers, to entertain the coffee-sipping A few years later Spirits (as it soon clientele. became known, because by the mid-eight- Recognizing a good thing when he ies the letters KS stood for something com- sees it, Moniger has continued the tradition pletely different) moved to a new location of providing entertainment for his cus- in the Galleria area. A few years later, tomers. In fact, E/I's is probably best Kindred Spirits closed its doors. It now known for its consistency in providing to houses an Aztec Party Rental outlet and a local performers a venue and appreciative Mattress Factory. Ironic: almost a decade audience. Moniger's clubs have for more later, people are still walking through those than twenty five years been the place in same doors looking for a party and a place Montrose to see local performers on their to sleep. way up, their way down, and at all points in Vicci and the customers who love her between. have since moved to Betsy Worden's Plaza Among the Houston show biz legends 9200, notably the largest (in terms of square who entertained at Ell's were Danny Villa, footage) gay and lesbian club complex in Brittany Page and John Day, all of whom the world. are gone. "I've lost so many friends. I quit She doesn't know if it's because of the counting at 200," Moniger said. "All the economy, apathy, or the trend toward recov- performers-you know so many, you learn ery. But Worden feels the clubs are no to care for people. And then, all of a sudden, longer the social hub for the gay and lesbian they're gone." community they once were. In the eleven Since 1988, Ell's most recent incarna- years Worden has been in the bar business, tion is on Ralph Street off Westheimer. The she especially prides herself in being able to 'I> former veterinary clinic is now a comfort- provide a clean and safe bar for Plaza able, L-shaped space, with the ever-present 9200's patrons. stage located at the elbow of the building. Happily, the consensus at Chances and The large patio in the back is also equipped The New Barn is that drugs and fights I with a stage. Old habits die hard.What else aren't as big a problem as in past years. I hasn't changed over the years? You could Bartender "Boots" attributes that to the I almost see Moniger flipping pages back recent renovation of lower Westheimer. through the 25-year history. "I have no idea. "The streets are safer," he said, than when I Queers is still queers," he laughed. he used to frequent The Exile on Bell Street EIJarc)in on Navarro Street in San Antonio. Most lesbians in Houston, circa late in downtown Houston. He declined to men- .;..I Tne oldest gay bar in Texas opened its doors 1970's, entered the world of gay and les- tion the year.... in 1947. Photo: Joe Bean bian bars by walking through the garage And they rest is history...in the making.