Space - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

Space (Now closed) was located downtown. I can't remember the exact address. It was a truely huge bar. It was only open as a gay bar for about a year. The guy who opened it (He did not own the bar) is known for opening gay bars and then changing them into straight bars later.

Aut Bar - Ann Arbor, Michigan (Gay bar)

Aut Bar (Still open) is located at 315 Braun Ct in Ann Arbor. It is actually a bar and restaurant. It is kind of a casual place, mixed crowd.

Aut Bar website

The Necto - Ann Arbor, Michigan (Gay bar)

The Necto (Still open) is located at 516 E Liberty in Ann Arbor. It used to be called The Nectarine Ballroom. The name was shorted to just Necto. It has been open since at least the 70's. It is only gay on Tuesday and Friday nights, but does get quite crowded. A lot of bands used to play there in the 70's including Bob Segar.

Also check out my other blog at: motorgay.net

Necto website

The Works - Detroit, Michigan (Gar bar)

The Works (Still open) is located at 1846 Michigan Ave in Detroit next to the old Tiger stadium (Now gone). It is on the corner of Michigan and Rosa Parks. The Works is primarily known for afterhours. It does get some special events for the Techno crowd.

Ted's on the park - Detroit, Michigan (gay friendly restaurant)

Ted's was located on Woodward Ave just north of the old Backstage. It was a popular after hours restaurant.

CT'S Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

CT'S (Now closed) was located on Greenfield just down from Backstreet. I'm not sure for what years it was open. CT stood for "The Cock Trap" It was a stripper bar.

The Malebox - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

The Malebox (Now closed) is located at 3537 E 7 Mile Rd in Detroit. The Malebox has been open for about 16 years. It was foreclosed on about a year ago and bought by the owner of the Gold Coast and re-opened. They have a small dance floor and they have a wet jockey shorts contest on Tues and Fridays. The Malebox was re-opened by owner Bill in Warren and is called MB II. I have a separate post for the new bar. Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

The Malebox bar website

The Tribes of the Cass Corridor - Detroit, Michigan

Someone pointed this website out to me. (See link below) It is not a "gay" group. It is about the creative/artist community in the cass corridor between the 1960s and 80s. There had to be some gay people in a bunch of artists. Interesting reading. Check it out.

The Tribes of the Cass Corridor

More About This

My goal is to list every gay bar that ever existed in Detroit. I am trying to do my own research into what these bars where like. I am also going to post some stories about the lives of gay people in Detroit especially in the 1930's and 40's. This time period just fascinates me. If you are an older person who lived in Detroit please send me your stories about what life was like for a gay person in old Detroit.(Any time period) I really love old photos. If you have old photos please see if you can get them scanned and send them to me. By posting them on this website you will be helping to preserve history. If I have not listed a bar, please let me know. I am also interested in the old gay bar raids by the Detroit police. Also, stories of undercover Detroit cops arresting gay men in stings for soliciting. If you have any suggestions about where I can find this kind of information please let me know. I don't think you can post pictures in a post on this blog, please email them to me at: detroitsocialclub@gmail.com

Todd’s Sway Lounge & Todd’s Other Side - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Todd's (Now closed) was located at 8139 E Seven Mile Rd in Detroit. I remember going to Todd's in the 80's. It was a punk/new wave bar. It was not really a "gay bar" it was just gay friendly. Everyone went there. People used to dive off the stage into the crowd dancing below. I had heard that the reason it closed was because they had too many lawsuits from people with broken bones from this stage diving activity. This bar was one that epitomized the glorious days of punk in the 80's. Please post your stories about this bar. Please email me photos of this place also! Also check out my other blog at: motorgay.net

Times Square - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

 

 Times Square (Now closed as gay bar) was located at 1431 Times Square in Detroit. I'm not sure what years it was open as a gay bar. I can remember it being quite popular for a few years. Rocko used to bar tend there. It was a dance bar. I had some good times there. Please post your stories about this bar.

Roscoe's Junktown Saloon - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Roscoe's Junktown Saloon (Now closed) was located at 5601 W Fort St in Detroit. I do remember going there a few times. It was in a really cool old building that probably had been a bar for years. Unfortunately, it was kind of off the beaten path. If you have any stories about the bar, please post!

Riley's Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Riley's (Now closed) was located at 5203 Chopin in Detroit. I do not know anything about this bar. Please post your stories about this bar.

The R & R Saloon - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The R & R Saloon (Still open) is located at 7330 Michigan Ave in Detroit. I went to the R&R years ago but I think it changed locations on Michigan Ave. It is a leather bar. Kinda seedy. It was recently host to Macho City. Post your stories about The R & R.

The Other Side Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Other Side Bar (Now closed) was located at 16801 Plymouth Rd in Detroit. I do not know anything about this bar. Please post your stories about this bar. Note: It is now called Time Out Sports Bar and Grille. (Straight I'm sure, lol)

Off Broadway East - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Off Broadway East (Now closed) was located at 12215 Harper in Detroit. I have never been to this bar. I think it was a African American bar. If you have any stories to tell about this bar please post.

Adams's Apple - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Adam's Apple (Still open) is located at 18931 W Warren in Detroit. I've been there once. Kind of a local watering hole type place. It does not attract a large crowd. Post your stories about this bar. Note: I think this used to be called Ken's.

Hayloft Saloon - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

The Hayloft Saloon (Still open) is located at 8070 Greenfield Rd in Detroit. I've been there once, it was slow when I was there. It is kind of a leather, country-western type crowd. Very blue collar and proud. If you have any stories about the history of the Hayloft, please post them.

Also, check out my other blog: motorgay.net

http://www.hayloftsaloon.com/

The Glass House - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Glass house (Now closed) was located at 950 W McNichols in Detroit. It is part of the same building that houses Menjo's. I remember when it was open, but I had never gone inside. If you have any stories about the Glass House please post. I'm told that Menjo's has bought both the Glass House and the hall next door to Menjo's and is planning to expand the bar into these two places.

The Famous Door - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Famous Door (Now closed) was located at 1256 Griswold in Detroit. I think this was primarily a black club. If you have any stories about this bar, please post.

Club 49 - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Club 49 was located at 9217 E Jefferson Ave in Detroit. I do not know anything about this place. Please post any stories about it.

Bingo's Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Bingo's was located at 7101 Puritan in Detroit. I know nothing about this place. If you have any stories about this place, please post.

The Backpocket Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

The Backpocket was located at 8832 Greenfield Rd in Detroit. It was across the street from Backstreet. I'm not sure how many years it was open. I went there for years after Backstreet closed for breakfast. It was open regular hours as well as a gay bar. But, it really got most of it's crowd after hours from the Backsteet crowd. It was a cool little place and we would have fun getting food after the bar closed. It sold to someone else and burned down I think? The building is gone now. Post anything you know or just your own stories about it.

The Deck- Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

 The Deck was located on the corner of Jefferson Ave and Alter Rd in Detroit. (Now closed) I went there a number of times over the years. It never really attracted a large crowd. I think because it was so far removed from the freeway. It seemed to me to get mostly an older Grosse Pointe gay crowd. I thought it was a cool bar but it just never attracted much of a crowd. It was located in an area of stark contrasts. The area of Jefferson and Alter Rd is very run down, serious ghetto. Yet right across this border of Grosse Pointe Park "thinks change" drastically. It is still one of the most weird things you can see anywhere in the US, total bleak ghetto and two blocks away, you'll see an upscale, well maintained neighborhood. Very strange, but that's Detroit. Here is a link to an article about the Deck:

http://supergaydetroit.blogspot.com/2008/07/guest-blogger-backintheday.html

Oliver Sipple - Gay man from Detroit saves President Ford's life

This is a tragic story about a gay man from Detroit who saved president Ford's life. See the link below for the article about it:

Oliver Sipple Article

The Blue Crest - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

I heard someone mention this bar. I have no idea where it was located? Help! Please post anything you know about this bar!

The Y.M.C.A. - Detroit, Michigan

The old Y.M.C.A. in Detroit. I'm not sure where this was located and I think this building has probably been torn down. I have no specific information about the Detroit Y.M.C.A. but it is well known that it was a meeting place for homosexuals especially before the age of gay bars. Here is a copy of an article I found by Caryn E. Neamann If you know of any stories of homosexual activity at the old Y.M.C.A please post.

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), founded in London in 1844 and brought to the United States in 1851, began as an effort to protect vulnerable men from the dangers of the city. By the early twentieth century, YMCAs had become popular havens for men who sought sex with other men.
The middle-class Protestant founders of the YMCA sought to provide a buffer between young men away from home for the first time and the dangers of the city. Emphasizing the triangle of mind, body, and spirit, they aimed to build a Christian superman who would be sober, morally clean, and physically fit to face the perils of the modern age.

Sponsor Message.

Accordingly, the YMCA built dormitories where men could find sanctuary. By the 1880s, the YMCA had embarked on an ambitious physical education program to accompany its lectures on health and Christianity. It built gyms, locker rooms, and swimming pools (where men swam nude in the custom of the era) to be located in the same building as the rooms for rent.
Men who did not realize that a gay subculture existed discovered one at the YMCA when they stopped to take rooms upon their arrival in the city. Other men discovered the YMCA through friends or through scandals that received heavy newspaper coverage.
In 1912, the Portland, Oregon YMCA, with the ninth largest membership in North America, became the center of a sex scandal. This first public account of a homosexual underworld in the Northwest appeared when a Portland newspaper charged many of the city's most prominent men with sodomy and contributing to the delinquency of minors. A few of the implicated men lived at the YMCA and others used the sports facilities.
The Portland scandal, as well as a subsequent one in 1919 at the Newport, Rhode Island Naval Training Station, prompted the leaders of the YMCA to enact strict rules against homosexuals. Suspicion of homosexuality or the solicitation of homosexual activity became grounds for immediate eviction. However, many of the desk clerks charged with enforcement were gay men who worked at the YMCA because they liked the gay-friendly environment. These men looked the other way as homosexual behavior abounded.
Cruising at the YMCA offered men a number of denial strategies. The physical facilities offered evidence that a man desired self-improvement but not proof that he accepted a homosexual identity. Yet it remained easy for a man to place himself in a situation where sex might occur. Many who participated in the thriving cruising scene in the YMCA remained closeted or self-identified as heterosexual outside of the building.
The 1940s through the 1960s witnessed the heyday of cruising at the YMCA. As the YMCA became associated in the public mind with virility, it attracted muscle men and lovers of muscle men. Members of the armed services and the working class were pulled into the YMCA by outreach programs that unintentionally also brought men who desired soldiers, sailors, and construction workers. It is this image of the YMCA as a sexual paradise that became immortalized in song by the gay-themed disco group The Village People in 1978. The double entendre-filled "YMCA" featured a chorus of "They have everything for you men to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys."
The emergence of a public, militant gay rights movement in the 1960s spelled the end of the YMCA as a gay playground. Participation in gay community centers, such as bars, became more attractive to men than heading over to the YMCA. The rise of AIDS in the 1980s dampened the public cruising scene and further reduced the popularity of the organization among gay men. Now known chiefly as a family athletic center, the YMCA has moved away from its sole focus upon young men.
In the decades when homosexuality remained underground, the YMCA provided a safe meeting place for gay men. It helped men to discover that they were not the only ones in the world with same-sex desires, and it gave them the opportunity to act upon these feelings without fear of arrest or public humiliation.

Stone Theatre burlesque - Detroit, Michigan

 

 

The Stone Theater Burlesque was located on Woodward Ave in Detroit. The only reason that I know that it must have been a haunt for gays is because there was a semi popular singer in the 50's and 60's named Johnnie Ray who was arrested in the men's room for soliciting sex from an undercover male Detroit police officer in 1951. He was later arrested for the same thing in 1959 at the Brass Rail Bar. (See my post about the Brass Rail) If you know anything else about this place as a gay hangout please post. It has since been demolished. Also check out my other blog at: motorgay.net

The Wood-Six Porno Theater

 The Wood-Six Porno Theater- Click to enlarge

The Wood-six porno theater was located at the corner of Woodward Ave and Six Mile Rd in Highland Park. You can see from the photo that it used to be the Highland Park State Bank. With the advent of the Internet most such old porno theaters have closed. The building was bought and remodeled as a straight strip club today. When I was a curious 18 year old in 1985 I ventured into the Wood-six out of curiosity. I had two "theaters" the one upstairs showed straight porn and the downstairs theater showed gay porn. I went downstairs to the gay porno theater and found it very old and creepy/dirty! There was two old guys sitting in the theater. One of them turned around and would not stop staring at me. I tried to give him the dirtiest look I could, but he just would not stop staring at me. I only stayed about a minute and got the hell out of there! Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Time Magazine Articles

 

I found these two articles in Time Magazine; one from 1969 and the other from 1975. There are both pretty funny to read given some of the views expressed at that moment in history. Although, not specifically about Detroit, they give an interesting window into the mindset at that time.

1975 Time article


1969 Time article

Tim Retzloff

Tim Retzloff  His research on queer life in Michigan has appeared in GLQ, the Detroit area newspaper Between the Lines, and the anthology Creating a Place for Ourselves (1997). He lives in Ann Arbor with his partner.

I have found his name turning up on allot of research regarding Detroit gay history. He has written some books on the subject. Here are some links to articles or books he has written on the subject:
(Note: Tim is a professional historian, I am just an amateur!)



Tim Retzloff - Article

Tim Retzloff - Article about him  


Tim Retzloff - Google Book Result

The Submarine Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

I do not know where this bar was located. I saw in mentioned in this article about a man named Rodger Keller. It says is was owned by the Karagas brothers who also ran the Woodward. If you know where this bar was located and have any stories about it, please post!

Tiffany's Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

Tiffany's (Now closed) was located at 17436 Woodward Ave in Detroit, just north of McNichols. I'm not sure for what years it was open. I went to Tiffany's in the 80's. Back then it was a small cramped, long narrow bar. It used to get packed on Thursday nights before everyone went to Menjo's. They had cheap pitches of beer on Thursdays. It got so packed that you had to rub up against everyone! I guess for a gay bar that is not a bad thing. When some song came on that everyone liked they had this large iron bell mounted up high that the bartender would ring. It was a fun place. Please post your stories of Tiffany's and any pictures. You can email them to me.

Gigi's Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

Gigi's (Still open) is located at 16920 W Warren Ave in Detroit. I first went to Gigi's in the 80's.It is a dance bar upstairs and they have drag shows some nights in the basement bar. Monday nights are still the best night. The music is a bit too much rap, hip-hop for me, but it still can be a fun bar. If you have stories of Gigi's please post them. Check out my other blog at: motorgay.net

http://www.gigisbar.com/

The Eagle Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

The Eagle (Still open) is located at 1501 Holden in Detroit. The Eagle is a leather/fetish bar. I'm not sure what year it opened? I did go there once in the 80's and it wasn't my thing! I did go back once in 2008 and it was a slow night. If you have any stories about the Eagle, please post them!

http://www.detroiteagle.com/

Heaven, after hours bar- Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

Heaven was located at 19106 Woodward Ave above The Gas Station bar, just north of 7 Mile Rd. It was only open for after hours. I used to go there allot in the 80's. It was fun and it was open for quite a few years. If you have any stories about Heaven, please post them!

Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Here is an article about one of the DJ's that used to play at Heaven:

http://metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=6502

Backstage - Footlights, Restaurant and Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

Backstage/Footlights (Now closed, burned down) was located on Woodward Ave just north of McNichols (Six Mile Rd) at 17630 Woodward Ave. The restaurant was called Backstage and the bar was called Footlights. It was opened by Peter Mel in 1978 (Backstage) and Footlights opened in 1981. Peter Mel has a new restaurant in Ferndale called Pete's Place. Backstage had allot of Broadwayy posters, that was the theme. Footlights was all black and white art deco style with a piano. They always had flowers on the tables with spotlights shining on the flowers. I first went here back in the 80's and have many fond memories of both. Everyone would go to get breakfast at Backstage after the bars closed. I can remember that they had a juke box in Backstage that had a 21 minute version of Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's song "Enough is enough" which we would always play sometimes twice in the same visit! (This song is 21 minutes long!) and drive the waiters crazy. I can remember they had this blind lady name Jan who played piano and sang in Footlights. The more drunk she got, the funnier she was. We would always ask her to sing "Mister Sandman" which she did in such a funny way. Then one night I was at Backstage having dinner with some friends and I noticed this "yellow glow" on a house across the street. I asked our waiter "Is this place on fire?" He said no, it was just the security van which used to drive around with a yellow flashing light on the roof. 10 minutes later he came and said "Everyone out! this place is on fire!" We ran outside and the place promptly burned to the ground in like 20 minutes! I miss that place, everyone does. Tell us your stories of the place. I need photos of this place!! email them to me!



Backstage was called The Paradiso Cafe before it was Backstage. I found this ad for The Paradiso Cafe.

 

Interior of The Pardiso Cafe 

Greg day bartender at Footlights

Jan the blind lady who played the piano and sang

Backstreet - Detroit (Gay Bar)

Backstreet is located in a shopping mall (strip mall) at the corner of Greenfield and Joy Rd. The address is 15606 Joy Rd. (Still open today)  There is not much signage but it is back in the corner of the L shaped strip mall. I'm not sure exactly what year it opened? Help if you know. I first went to Backstreet around 1985. It was really packed and fun back then. The original owner, and I can't remember his name, died of AIDS. If I'm correct he left money in his estate which helped start Affirmations in Ferndale. The club changed hands a couple of times and was closed for a couple years. I can remember there was this guy who ever Saturday danced on top of one of the speakers and wore wild suits. I can even remember a guy who always brought his own Tambourine and banged on it to the music! Tells you how old I am! DJ Bill Bennett spun there for years. I miss him, he was good. Now DJ Timmy D spins there.(I won't comment on that, Lol) The second owner was Tom G. (I won't try to spell his Italian last name) He was older, short, pudgy and wore lots of gold rings on his fingers like Bruce Detloff from the Gold Coast. Allot of people REALLY hated him. I can only go from my experience, I used to talk to him and he was always nice to me. I think he was really kinda shy. Not the best to be shy when you own a gay bar. The owner is "Doc" Tom. He is straight and a hell of a nice guy. Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Update 2012: Murray and Peter are out. Doc is running the bar again.

Anonymous said... Backstreet opened in August 1979. Carl Rippberger and Joel Yoder bought the Escape Bar located in the same space and converted it into Backstreet. Carl told me they invested about $100,000 to buy it and turn it into Backstreet. It was an immediate hit with the Detroit gay community and its success started a long-running feud with Menjo's over business and marketing. At one time Backstreet was open seven nights a week. On slow nights you could go there for a drink or for movie nights on Tuesdays. Eventually Backstreet had two huge nights per week, Wednesdays (two-for-one) and Saturdays. Of the two original owners, Carl Rippberger was the brains behind marketing and promotion with Joel handling the business side. Eventually, Carl bought Joel out and he became sole owner. Carl traveled alot and particularly loved New York. He strived to create some of the disco magic he experienced in New York here in Detroit. Backstreet was constantly promoting theme parties and bringing in top disco artists. Some of the acts that perfomed there during the 1980s included Sylvester, Lime, Patrick Cowley, Paul Parker, Miquel Brown, Pamela Stanley, NYC Saint DJs Robbie Leslie and Roy Thode, Carol Jiani and many, many more. One night Grace Jones showed up at Backstreet after a Royal Oak concert and proceeded through the crowd on the shoulders of her bodyguard before the floor was cleared so that she and Carl could dance alone to "Pull up to the Bumper." During the eighties and into the nineties Backstreet would routinely draw 600 people on Wednesday and 1200 on Saturday. Carl was way ahead of his time with the level of promotion and the detail he put into the major parties. He really was a joy to be around and was generous to a fault. Carl Rippberger passed away due to AIDS in the mid-90s and left the business to his dear friend Tom Giuseppe. Tom ran the bar for at least seven or eight more years before it was ultimately sold, closed for a while and reopened under the current ownership. Backstreet's slogans were "Light Years Ahead of the Rest..." and "Detroit's Party Bar" and during its heyday it more than lived up that reputation.

Club Gold Coast - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

 
I first went to the Gold Coast (Still open today) back in the 80's. It was then owned by a man named Bruce Detloff. There was a picture of him hanging above the bar with his hands in front of him with gold rings on every finger. They have a enlarged version of this picture on the other side of the bar now. Bruce was a sleazy type of guy from everything that I was told and was into running male prostitution rings, drugs, etc. He was found murdered in his apartment with all his fingers cut off! The Gold Coast is a stripper bar. Most of the strippers today seem like they are straight and just doing it for the money. Be careful where you park if you go there, I recommend valet, it is in a bad neighborhood. Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

The Woodward - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

 

The Woodward Bar (Still open) is located at 6424 Woodward Ave in Detroit. It is the oldest continually open gay bar in Detroit. I have been there many times, it was kind of a dive place. They used to sell hamburgers. They had the same waitress for years as I remember. They had this funny statue of male form holding grapes over his mouth. It is now predominately a African American clientele. Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Twilight Zone Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gar Bar)

The Twilight Zone bar (Now closed) was located at 9385 Greenfield in Detroit. I do no know anything about this bar. If you have any stories you can post, please do. Photos also. It is now called the Chicago Lounge.

Trainor's Bar - Royal Oak, Michigan (Gay bar)

Trainor's Bar (Now closed) was located at Woodward and 10 Mile Rd. According to Bob Damron's 1968 guide book it was a mixed crowd and or tourists. It was also "Collegiate" If you know anything about this bar please post. It could have been torn down to accommodate I-696.

The Ten-Eleven Bar- Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Ten-Eleven Bar (Now closed) was located at 1011 Farmer St in Detroit. All that I know about is that Bob Damron's 1968 guide books says "Rough Trade" If you know anything about this bar please post.

The Statler-Hilton Hotel Bar - Detroit Michigan (Gay bar)

 

 

This hotel was closed for years and is now demolished. I have heard stories of it being a gay hang out back in the day. It is located at Washington and Grand Circus Park. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says "Mixed crowd and or tourists" and "Pretty elegant, usually a jacket and tie advised if not required." I don't know anything about what this place was like. Please post your stories and photos.

http://forgottendetroit.com/statler/index.html

S & C Restaurant - Detroit (Gay friendly restaurant)

The S & C restaurant was located at 6521 2nd in Detroit. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says "After hours" If you have any stories or photos please post them!

The Silver Star Bar - Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Silver Star bar was located at 9310 Greenfield in Detroit. I do not know anything about this bar, help! Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says it was "Very Popular" If you have any stories about this bar, please post! Also photos.

The Rathskeller Bar - Royal Oak? Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Rathskeller bar was located at Main and 11 Mile Rd. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says that is was a "Mixed crowd or tourists" and it was "Collegiate" If you know anything about this bar, please post! Photos also!

The Palais Bar - Detroit (Gay bar)

The Palais bar (Now closed) was located at 655 Beaubien in Detroit. It is currently the Detroiter sports bar. I have heard some stories of this being a lesbian bar but I'm not sure it was exclusively. Help! If you have stories of this bar or photos please post.

Miami Restaurant - Detroit Michigan (Gay friendly restaurant)

The Miami Restaurant was located at Euclid and 101st street in Detroit. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says "Coffee, sometimes food too, usually open late when bars are closed" I don't know anything about this place. Please post your stories and photos if you have them!

La Rosa's - Detroit Michigan (Gay bar)

La Rosa's was located at 731 Bates in Detroit. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book shows that it was "Rough Trade" If you know anything about this bar, please post. Also photos if you have them.

Diplomat - Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

Current view- is now a Baptist church

 Photo approx 1959

The Diplomat was located at 8540 2nd in Detroit. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says "brick front-no name or number visible-nearest cross st is Pingree) It also says "Very Popular" I think there was a bath house located on State Fair later also called the Diplomat? I think these are two different places. I don't know anything about this bar, help! Please post pictures or stories. 

Someone shared this link which is very interesting about early drag in Detroit:

http://www.queermusicheritage.us/fem-hummell.html 

Circa 1890 - Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

This bar was located at 5474 Cass Ave in Detroit. I don't know anything about this bar, help! Please post your stories and photos! It is still open under the same name and is not currently known as a gay bar. It was listed in Bob Damron's 1968 guidebook as a gay bar.

Chez Monti - Detroit Michigan (Gay bar)

I don't know anything about this bar, help! It was located at 323 E Larned in Detroit. Bob Damron's 1968 guide book says that it had "Raunchy types, often commercial" and dancing. Please post any stories or photos!

The Barbary Coast - Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Barbary Coast was located at 2459 Grand River Ave in Detroit. According to Bob Damron's 1968 guide book it had shows, girls, but rarely exclusively, dancing and a mixed crowd and or tourists. I don't know anything else about this bar, help! Please tell stories if you had ever been to this bar. Photos are also needed.

The Sweetheart Bar, Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

I have heard a couple of references to The Sweetheart Bar. I do not know anything about it, help! There was a book called "Jack Lait's Lee Mortimer's 1952 USA Confidential" which states "Fairies patronize the Sweetheart bar" I'm sure it was downtown. If you know any more about this bar, please post. I need the exact location and pictures would be great. Please post any stories about it that you know.

The Iron Hinge Bar, Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Iron Hinge was located on Woodward Ave just north of Grand Blvd. A guy from California told me that it was his first gay bar in 1972. He said that Sunday nights were popular for the drag shows. Also, Jojo who worked the door at Menjo's for years had first worked at the Iron Hinge. If you have any stories about this bar, please post! Also, check out my other blog: motorgay.net/

The Escape Bar, Detroit Michigan (Gay bar)

I do not know where this bar was located. I have heard references to it. There is currently a straight bar downtown also named The Escape? I'm not sure if this is the same bar. I think the bar I am referring to was open in the 70's and 80's. If you have any pictures or can tell stories about this bar, please post! Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Toobes Bar, Detroit Michigan (Gay bar)

Toobes was also located next to The Gas Station Bar on Woodward Ave and 7 Mile Rd. I did go inside once back in the 80's It really seemed even more like a "hustler" bar than The Gas Station. It was decorated with a bunch of plumbing tubes, etc. If you have any pictures or stories about this bar please post! We need to preserve this history!

The E-Ramp Bar, Detroit Michigan (Gay Bar)

The E-Ramp bar was located next to The Gas Station on Woodward Ave in Detroit. I don't think I ever had gone inside. I'm not sure of what years it was open. I have heard stories that it had a semi truck cab inside the bar! I do not have any photos or information about this bar, please help if you do.

Someone was nice enough to send me these photos:

The Gas Station Bar - Detroit, Michigan (Gay Bar)

The Gas Station was located at 19106 Woodward Ave and 7 Mile Rd in Detroit. It was opened in the mid 70's by Peter Mel who later opened The Backstage Deli, Footlights and Salute. The Gas Station was kind of a dumpy bar which had a bit of a seedy clientele. Unfortunately for me it was my first gay bar. The year was 1985 and I had just bought my first car which finally gave me the freedom to go where I wanted. Growing up in Royal Oak we never went south of 8 Mile Rd. That was "scary" to even think of going into the city of Detroit. We only really went south of 8 Mile once a year on our way to Cedar Point on the freeway. When we were on the freeway I can remember seeing houses with "Jail bars" on the windows, we could not believe that anyone would have to have bars on their windows. This just gives you the context of how scared I was to venture south of 8 Mile. I had heard that the "Fags" where all down around 6-7 Mile and Woodward. So, off I went, driving up and down Woodward Ave looking for anything "Gay". Mind you, this was before the internet and I was a suburban Royal Oak kid who went to a Catholic high school and I did no know a single gay person. I was both terrified and excited at the same time. I saw the Gas Station bar and pulled around back to the parking lot. This was a scary neighborhood back then and still is. I remember seeing white people going into the bar and because this was a black neighborhood I thought this must be a gay bar! But, I was confused; I saw girls going in as well? I did not know about "fag hags" yet. I was terrified of going inside. I came every Friday or Saturday night for about a month and just sat in the parking lot trying to get the courage to go inside. You must remember I was a naive, scared 18 year old kid who had hardly ever been inside of any bar, let alone one south of 8 Mile in such a bad neighborhood. I finally got the guts to up go inside. When I did there was a guy at the door checking ID's, he let me in! The place was decorated in this cheesy gas station style with gas station signs, etc. I bought a Coke at the bar and immediately bolted for the corner up by the dance floor. I think I was shaking I was so scared; but excited and curious at the same time. I had never met anyone who was a homosexual! I surveyed the crowd and was happy to see some guys who were young like myself. But, there was also allot of "old men" as well. Then, this old guy started talking to me. At this time I was very shy, I really wanted him to leave me alone so I could have a chance to talk to one of the younger guys but I was too shy and polite to get rid of him. I ended up having to talk to him the whole night. I came back every Friday or Saturday night and the same thing always happened. What I did not know at the time was The Gas Station was really a "hustler bar" where young hustlers would go to get picked up by old men. Finally after going there for a few months I talked to one of the younger guys, who must have been a hustler; and having seen me there every weekend and realizing that I was not a hustler he suggested that I check out Menjo's. I did not know about Menjo's because it was not on Woodward and was way down six Mile Rd. So, Menjo's was my second gay bar, thank god! It was so much better than the Gas Station. (See my other post about Menjo's) I did return to The Gas Station on Tuesday nights because they had the "Wet jockey shorts" contest with lady T Tempest. This night drew in a large younger crowd that were not hustlers and it was fun. This was the only night that I would go to the Gas Station again. Friday and Saturday nights it was young hustlers and the old men who came to pick them up. Another strange phenomenon about The Gas Station was that it was located on the corner of a side street and Woodward Ave. The parking lot was behind the bar. Down this side street past the parking lot was something I have never seen before or since anywhere in Detroit. There were male prostitutes standing on the this side street waiting to guys to drive by and pick them up. I have never seen any place else since where there were male whores working on the street in Detroit. I'm not sure what year the Gas Station closed, it was torn down and there is a McDonald's there now. I could not find any pictures of the front of the bar facing Woodward? Please send me any pictures if you have them, interior or exterior. Also, on another note; there was an after hours club located above The Gas Station called "Heaven" (See my post about Heaven). If you have you own stories about The Gas Station, please post them. Also check out my other blog: motorgay.net

Also, I found this matchbook for the"7-Wood Bar" at the same address as The Gas Station. So, this is what was there before The Gas Station.

The Brass Rail - Detroit, Michigan (Gay bar)

 

The Brass Rail in the 1950's

 Interior from the 1940's

 

 

 

The Brass Rail was located at 116 Michigan Avg Ave in Detroit. I don't know the exact years it was open? Help if you can. I also don't know just what kind of bar it was. I know that it is mentioned as a gay bar. There was a semi-popular singer from the 50's, kind of a teenie bopper sensation before Elvis named Johnnie Ray who was arrested in The Brass Rail in 1959 for soliciting an undercover police officer. Any stories about this bar are needed. The Brass Rail did have 3 locations at one time.

Also check out my other blog at: motorgay.net