Gay bars riverside
Barfly West '73: D. L. M.; Bob Damron '80-82: (D) (some Orientals); Bob Damron '84: (Disco) (D) * (Some Latins)
Ken’s River Club, on Riverside in Silver Lake, was the gay spot mutual by Latinos and Asians during the 1970s. Pervasive racism in West Hollywood boosted bars in Hollywood and Silver Lake that catered to gay people of color, including the Study at Western and Sunset, and Mugi’s on Hollywood Boulevard.
"Closeted Chicano males, even those who 'passed,' in barrio gangs felt constrained to seek refuge in the 1970's in gay bars that were at least a few miles away from abode, such as Ken's River Club."
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ONE Archives
A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive
Phillip Bailey has been a long time performative organizer and celebrity in Riverside since moving to the capital in 1996. He discusses his long involvement in Riverside’s kingly community and its beginnings in Riverside’s Menagerie and V.I.P. lgbtq+ bars during the late 1980s and 1990s. Bailey details the activism role of the Riverside drag community during the AIDS epidemic, during which drag performers held fundraiser events for the Inland AIDS Project. He discusses how the LGBTQ+ community’s organized after the murder of Jeffrey Owens in which a “We Will Not Be Silent” protest took place in the municipality and the Jeffrey Owens Group Center was founded. He talks about Riverside drag events that he has organized, including the annual Throwdown Drag Down Kingly Race, his Fant-A-Shes productions inception in 1997, and various flamboyant shows at the V.I.P. and Menagerie bars over the years. Bailey also discusses key factors to drag history in the Inland Empire, including the renowned Halston drag family, the impact of Ru
Gay clubs in Jacksonville history
The former Club Jacksonville gay bathhouse at 1939 Hendricks Avenue in San Marco, now the offices of Team 4 Design.
Jacksonville has been home to bars, clubs and other venues catering to the LGBTQ community since at least the 1950s. At a moment when being out came with vast social stigma and often personal peril, these spaces served as safe havens for LGBTQ Jaxsons to meet, uncover a date or simply be themselves in public. While online dating and broadening acceptance of LGBTQ people in the wider society has led to a decline in the number of gay bars and nightclubs, their role in Jacksonville’s LGBTQ history can’t be overstated.
By 1960, Jacksonville was home to at least three gay bars. In 1964, Roverta “Bo” Boen opened what became Duval County’s longest running homosexual bar, Bo’s Coral Reef. Originally located on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach, Boen later moved it to Philips Highway. In 1980, Bo’s returned to Jacksonville Beach in a building on 2nd Street. For nearly 40 years, it was a favorite hangout for LGBTQ people from across the First Coast and a popular spot in the Jax Beaches bar scene. Bo’s Coral Reef survived Boen’s death in 20
Looking to meet other homosexual folk in the Inland Empire? The following page lists some of the activities and gatherings we know of that transpire on a regular basis. We are not affiliated with any of these groups or activities – they are all organized by other community members – but we grasp it's important to be able to find your tribe and list them here for your communication. If you have a regular LGBTQ+ specific action or group that you'd like to be added to this page – please click the Contact Us link above.
You can click the links to find out more data. Any questions should be directed to the organizers on their respective pages.
Sports & Fitness
Sporting teams, groups, leagues that meet regularly:
A queer running club in Riverside that caters to LGBTQIA2S+ communities in Inland Empire. All runners & walkers of any abilities & levels are welcome! Instagram | Website
New Homosexual community group in Riverside, CA for those who are interested in outdoor activities like kickball.
Instagram | Meetup
**ON HIATUS** JOIN US AT IE Flows (Below) on Fridays.
Here for the community 🤝🏼
Join us every other Sunday @ 5pm @Fairmount Park, Riversid