For a lot of (at least Western) history, bars weren’t really a thing - you had inns and taverns, which served alcohol but also offered lodging or food. To separate molly houses from gay bars, we have to kind of look at the history of bars themselves. They’re a place for gathering socially with similar “deviants” and “sodomites,” to feel safe among those who have a shared lived experience. Gay bars were not, at least initially, all that different from molly houses and, in terms of their purpose, still aren’t. We have previously talked a little about molly houses before - specifically Mother Clap’s and the White Swan, which were both pretty historically significant. A lot of these places will hopefully get posts of their own further down the line. But I’m not here to weigh the pros and cons of gay bars - we can all do that on Twitter (and we do) - I just want to talk briefly about the history of gay bars, talk a teeny bit about some of the first ones to exist, and some of the oldest ones that we still have today.
It’s true that bars being basically the central gathering place for our community isn’t without drawbacks - although, personally, I love them. I’m not saying you’re doing queerness wrong if you haven’t been to a gay bar, I’m just saying it’s a pretty common shared experience. Even if you’re just someone who loves an LGBTQIA+ person, there’s still a good chance you’ve been to a gay bar. So….we’re back with even more queer history!Ĭhances are pretty good, if you’re an LGBTQIA+ person you’ve been to a gay bar. May not ever calm down but I’m handling the craziness better now that I’m kind of getting used to it. The hotel bar / restaurant, Temple, serves up great food.I know it’s been like a really long time - sorry about that! My real life job got absolutely crazy and hasn’t calmed down at all. It has to be seen, the rooms are different shapes and it is one of the cooler hotels I have stayed in (non-boutique). It is an old converted Masonic temple (the interior was never completed and the shell stood vacant for decades). The Renaissance is the only hotel I stay at in Providence. There are some great pastry places on Federal Hill. The bear scene in New England is so small and incestuous that everyone has fucked everyone, and diseases spread from Bangor to Hartford within weeks.įood choices abound in Prov, amazing Italian food on Federal Hill, and seafood is usually fresh in most non chain places.
Regarding bears, there are several semi hot and slutty bears and chaser types in the Providence area. The book store next to Mega, on the other hand, does get a nice crowd. Both places cater to the fetish and poz crowds. Trust me, no straight guy has ever been to either place except maybe to fix the plumbing. CBC has a trannie night too once a month. For the younger tweaker crowd, Mega is the choice, for the older, heavier, or homeless crowd, CBC is the place to be. Providence has 2 bath houses, Megaplex and Club Body Center. Just look for all the queens outside smoking on Richmond Street (Mirabar, the Grande Dame of RI gay bars), or leather queens and bears smoking on Union st to find the Eagle. The Eagle is the "bear" bar, and like noted above, many of the gay bars have no signs. Providence can be fun, less uptight than Boston.