La gay bars

From West Hollywood to Long Beach, these are some of the best bars to celebrate Pride or frequent all year long. In , the Black Cat was the site of a demonstration against police brutality. Find the best gay bars, clubs, saunas cruise clubs and gay-friendly hotels in Los Angeles. Check reviews, photos, and more on Explore the ultimate LGBTQ+ guide to Los Angeles—from historic gay bars and cultural hotspots to inclusive community spaces and hidden gems across West Hollywood, Silverlake, and beyond.

From WeHo legends to Silver Lake staples, these 10 LGBTQ+ bars are keeping L.A.’s queer nightlife alive all year long.

Find the best queer, lesbian, and gay bars, clubs, and nightlife in Los Angeles, from WeHo to Echo Park. Discover the best gay bars in West Hollywood and cute lesbian cocktail lounges in Silverlake with our queer nightlife guide. The Stonewall Uprising in New York is widely regarded as the beginning of the Gay Civil Rights Movement, but the heart of the movement, and what we know as "gay culture" has strong roots in Los Angeles.

Here are just a few, and we invite you to tell us more. If their outward gender presentation didn't match their ID, they would be arrested. On May , LAPD officers arrested five Cooper Do-nuts patrons — two drag queens, two male sex workers and one gay man — through such tactics. As the patrons were ushered into a police car, a group of lesbians, transgender women, drag queens and gay men rushed to the streets, resisted the arrests, throwing donuts, paper plates and coffee cups.

There are no official reports or news coverage of the event, but author and eye-witness John Rechy recalls the "street was bustling with disobedience. The Black Cat Tavern was the site of a brutal police raid that incited one of the first demonstrations in the U. Then, on Feb. Today, the Black Cat is a recognized Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles and continues to be a popular spot for classic cocktails and American tavern food.

Before West Hollywood was designated an official city in , the area was an unincorporated region of Los Angeles County, existing outside the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department. In the mid s, as rent prices skyrocketed and the expiration of L. Pershing Square was a meeting ground for gay men for much of the early 20th century, located at the heart of "The Run" — a circuit of gay-friendly establishments and cruising spots in the s through the '80s.

In , the city cleared the area for a three-level parking garage, gutting the trees that once made up a lush wooded area that facilitated private rendezvous among men. Studio One was a popular bar and disco, well-known for its young crowd and entertainment — from cabaret performances to theater. Founded in the early s by part-owner Scott Forbes, dubbed the "Disco King" by the Los Angeles Times in a feature, the dance club operated in West Hollywood until when it was bought and renamed "Axis.

Many criticized the club for catering to white gay men and denying Black, Chicano and women patrons at the entrance through exclusionary door policies and classist dress codes. Controversy surrounding the night club's exclusivity reached a peak in when the Gay Community Mobilization Committee made efforts to shut down exclusive policies by sending letters of protest and organizing community boycotts. Despite the committee's efforts, Studio One stayed packed and busy for years even while the presence of picketers outside the club became commonplace.

Opened in by Gene La Pietra and Ermilio "Ed" Lemos, the club served patrons of all races, orientations and gender identities as an alternative to then-exclusionary nightclubs of West Hollywood. Over time, Circus Disco quickly developed a reputation, along with its neighbor Arena and Jewel's Catch One, as one of the few gay clubs in L. An important aspect of Circus Disco was its primarily Latinx identity, owned by Latinx entrepreneurs and maintaining a loyal clientele of Latinx gay men.

best gay clubs in west hollywood

The disco frequently organized themed events like Western night, dress-in-uniform night, pajama party and "A Latino Happening at Circus Disco. Fundraising nights, benefits and galas were commonplace at Circus Disco, raising money for organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Gay Rights Chapter, the Norton Sound 8, and even creating a scholarship fund to benefit young gay men and women.

Circus Disco closed in , but the giant clown mouth entrance that welcomed hundreds of patrons for over four decades still remains. Jewel's Catch One was one of the first Black discos in the U. Opened in by Jewel Thais-Williams, the bar sought to serve queer people of color who were often unwelcome at other nightclubs like West Hollywood's Studio One.

At the time, Studio One was known to hassle Black patrons for multiple forms of ID to be allowed inside the venue and they certainly weren't alone among West Hollywood bars to practice racist and misogynist door policies. Thais-Williams, a Black lesbian, purchased what was then the Diana Club in a white neighborhood and received threats from authorities, police and general public. The club remained open, however, and found success, attracting celebrities like Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Rick James.

But aside from the disco's bustling scene and dazzling celebrity appearances, Jewel's Catch One served as a community hub, offering its space for political organizations to have community meetings. During the AIDS crisis, Thais-Williams hosted fundraisers at the disco to support Black gay men in the community who were disproportionately impacted.

The Catch closed in and Thais-Williams sold the building in September