Which Boston gay bar do you miss the most?
Russ Lopez book, The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown and Beyond shares how vibrant Boston’s gay scene was through the much of the 20th century. After WWII, Boston had more than a dozen gay bars. Those numbers would continue to proliferate over the coming decades (peaking in the 1970s – 90s) alongside other businesses that catered to the local gay community.
Last year Machine / Ramrod closed after a developer purchased the building it was located in to turn the block into residences. And a few weeks ago, I shared that the Boston Eagle has permnantly closed. The loss of these spaces has reignited the discussion about the slow demise of the gay bar in Boston, and it made me wonder, what gay bar from Boston’s past do you miss the most?
BosGuy 
Darts, anyone?
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Classy place. Chrome and black … a sign of the times. Worth being vulnerable waiting to get it on line on Dartmouth Street. Remember “Bill the Hat Check Boy” who was, in actuality, a sweet man with nice manners and a generous smile.
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Does anyone remember the Land of Oz on Comm Av?
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Darts….
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The Cowardly Lion, was the first Gay Bar, I had ever gone to. My dear old friend Bobby, was a Bartender there & it was the Best, Happiest place I had ever entered.
Sylvia Sydney, was an Amazing! Entertainer❣️
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Does anyone in here remember ,
The (Cowardly Lion)? It was in an alley way off of Boylston St. I believe?
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How about Fantasy’s Ipswich, Darocco’s in Tyngsboro, Fran’s of Lynn if you wanted to take a drive out of the city. As a bartender at Buddies on Stuart st, Bobby’s on Canal, Josephine’s above Jaques, The Paradise in Cambridge, Quest 1270 Boylston st, Machine under Ramrod, and Avalon all of these places were great to work in and be a part of ! Also I worked at the Boatslip in Provincetown in 88. My memories are still sharp and long.
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hey there I loved Bobbys I worked there also always thought it was best bar in Boston
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who can forget Somewhere, best DJ ever , Tita ,then it burned down and rebuilt as Somewhere else , never really recovered after that.
my brother was a bar back at Buddies, so we got into to all the bars, two you gay , brother sister combo, best times 70’s into early eighties, then lost too many wonderful people far to soon, my brother was one of them…he . Loved going to the bathhouses .
to repeat the famous phrase: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times ! RIP
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Anyone remember The Other Side disco in Bay Village in the early 70’s? Mafia owned so Michael at the door would admit you underage. Front bar was The Pub where infamous drag Sylvia Sidney was the waitress. Next door was The Nineties restaurant. Across the street from Jacques drag bar which is still there.
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119 Merrimac was my go to always. Great group of people. Great bartenders. Great place to play pool and maybe … well …
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119 Merrimac was the first gay bar I ever entered, and that was in 1977.
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My first club was Randolph County Club then I found 1270 and dancing at Josephines above Napoleons and who could forget Skippers !
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Your post was like reading my own series of the establishments that I would go to and think of with fondness !
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I came out in ‘81, aged 18, when someone I ‘met’ brought me there. Back then gay bars were paying off the cops just to exist and not get raided and that allowed underage patrons in and an open atmosphere with people smoking weed, etc.
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let me age myself! who remembers the Punch Bowl.and Marios so much fun in the day !!!
Cyril the great
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No one remembers Playland?
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absolutely remember playland, my brother loved it but told me he’d kill me if I ever went … we’re both gay.
The 70’s early 80s were the best,
12/70, chaps, ramrod, ……
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I worked at JC Hillary’s in the early 80s. After most shifts we ended up at Buddies.
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I went a few times as a teenager to Haymarket, what happened to it? What was the history behind it?
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Chaps,,,1270,,Avalon,,Ramrod,,,so great,,,I remember waiting in line to get in at the 1270 and cars would yell not nice things as we waited,,,,once inside all fun,,,
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For me, 1270 was the best. No drama. Three floors to explore and the best dance music in town. Buddies was a great alternate. Loved 9 Lansdowne for its sheer size and for its separate cabaret room with great live entertainment.
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Oh gosh back in the early nineties no place better than Chaps (original)specially on Tuesdays…course Sunday was Avalon…miss all those places when we visit 🙁
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Wasnt Avolon on Landsdown next to Jillians? One could walk down through a tunnel under an alley and come up in a lesbian bar then Spit and the dance floor upstairs Spitup….so many memories in Gay 80s Boston I was often in a tight white T shirt jeans and a Stihl chainsaw hat! What a blast! More somber is 14, the number of clise buds fead from Aids. RIP
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Metro>Citi>Avalon/Spit on Sundays and pre-holiday nights; The 12, then Buzz on Saturday nights; Sunday tea at original Chaps; Friday nights at Machine; later on, Sunday long-weekend nights at The Roxy. —And can’t forget occasional visits through the years to Napoleon’s, 119, Sporters, Eagle, Obsessions, Fantasy’s…. And, yes, looking behind us and both ways walking towards and into a gay bar or bookstore in case someone who didn’t know we were gay saw us, or being interrogated at the door by bouncers asking if we knew we were entering a gay bar (!). 😘
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buddies buddies buddies best music best people best cocktails and best pharmaceuticals
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Boston Boston on Sunday nights, Chaps and of course Buddies! And in a related field how about South Station Cinema 😊
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What about Bobby’s on Canal St tea dance Sundays I was a bartender there always a blast
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I remember when the Paradise opened, around the time of the Blizzard of ’78. It was a great neighborhood hangout. I used to go there after international folkdancing at MIT!
The first gay bar I ever went to was Sporters, though. It was around 1975 or ’76, and after playing gay basketball with GRAC, the Gay Recreational Activities Committee at the Lindemann Center and maybe having dinner at the Brighams up on a plaza on Cambridge St, a few of us went to Sporters. I remember hesitating, thinking someone I knew would see me. Then I realized my grandmother was dead, and why would it matter. Tada!
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Thanks for sharing. It’s funny how paranoid we all were about someone seeing us enter a gay bar. Today (for the most part) it is hard for people to comprehend that fear.
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I had best times of my life night-clubing
in the 70’s / 80’s
Gay bars such as, Landsdown St. Jocks, Chaps.. But the Best of the Best for me was the “Cowardly Lion”
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It is so fascinating that folks have mentioned two bars with Oz-related names, The Land of Oz and Cowardly Lion. I would be very interested in any specific memories folks have of either place. Or others!
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Anyone mention Napoleon’s? Fun times.
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Miss them all Fantasies Chaps Styx Buddies 1270 Spotters and the Rifleman. Too many to cite!
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I’m surprised no one has mentioned the 1270. It wasn’t a favorite of mine because I was banned for trying to use my fake I.D.
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Metro
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Haymarket and Playland for the “downtown” scene (aka Combat Zone). 😉
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Buddies, Darts, Chaps. The holy trinity!
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Agree! Buddies, Darts and Chaps. The Gay Triangle. My arm had more ‘stamps’ than a letter. The 80’s were the best! Kiss108 with Sunny Joe White for dance remixes. RIP
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Kiss 108…just the best…actually did a live on air in the studio with Sonny…he was the best
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Sometimes we could get Kiss 108 here in Providence and it would be like a lifeline to gaydom-we did ok here but Boston was Boston! Remember Paradise in Cambridge? 🌞
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Worked the door at Darts from the start. With Uncle Billy.
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Luxor in Bay Village was a top venue for early evening cocktails before heading downstairs to dinner at Mario’s, served by the fabulous Donna or Gigi while discussing which club to head off to afterwards for the night.
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I completely forgot about Luxor! Cocktail hour there was always a good time.
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Chaps, especially on Tuesday nights, Fritz, Ramrod, Sporters—all great in their own rights in the mid-late 80s
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The Ramrod was my home and my family from 1991-1993. I am so sad it is gone.
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Buddies/Chaps/Napoleon Club in Bay Village
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My home away from home was 119 Merrimac St. The first bar I hung at was the Paradise Cafe on Mass Ave. I hung at the Ramrod circa 1985, Sporters, Fritz, in turns. I miss them all, but 119 was my old favorite.
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Avalon and Buzz
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