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The ones that really surprise people are the most historic ones-like the Vault at Pfaff, where Walt Whitman went. Some favorites are the Roxy, Crisco Disco, and the Mine Shaft, and we always end with Stonewall. And we try and have a guest speaker to talk from a first hand account. We try to cover different types of places-gay dance clubs, leather scene, piano bars, Rose's Turn, the old Duplex space. It's more of a walking conversation than a tour. Michael: The point of the walk is to share memories. What are your 'Gay Bars That Are Gone' walks walks like? Are they like séances? I think there's a resurgence to build relationships with people who were there at the time or with younger people who share an interest in that time. Word spread that if you want to experience what the community was like, go there. I love older spaces and things from a different time. I heard, "It's for the older crowd." But I was curious. Michael: Yes, the oldest currently operating. Julius (in the Village) is the oldest place, right?
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Kyle: My favorite is probably the Ninth Circle (a fab West 10 th Street steakhouse-turned-gay-bar full of leather clones, twinks, hustlers, and celebrity drop-ins, all either cruising, playing pool, doing drugs, or rubbing against each other.) The location was so great-Mapplethorpe, Warhol and Lou Reed were all there in the late '60s. Once a year-for three years in a row-they've done Gay Bars That Are Gone, an informative walk as part of Jane Jacobs festival, in May. By day, Kyle does comedy, historic restoration, and works for Wilsonart, while Michael is involved with TED (as in TED Talks). To learn more about the places we miss, I turned to Kyle Supley and Michael Ryan, who specialize in documenting the formative days of bar hopping.
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Have a story about the original Eagle’s Nest? Post it below and share the memories.There will always be gay bars, but will they be as vivid, sexy, and subversive as the haunts of yore? The history of NYC nightlife is studded with the memories of fascinating boîtes that attracted gays in desperate need of connection, then ultimately fell away as newer spots and trends emerged. The video below taken after hours shortly before it’s closing and is all remains other than the memories of its patrons of the infamous gay leather bar. Landlords were not renewing old leases and by the year 2000, Jack Modica chose to retire rather than to reopen The Eagle elsewhere.Īnd while a new version of called the Eagle NYC was reopened on, October 5, 2001, by different owners at 554 W 28th Street it was never the same. Old warehouses were converted into upscale loft buildings or art galleries. By the 90’s the neighborhood was evolving and the frontier was now being gentrified. Cigars, uniforms, poppers, and sex in the bathrooms and backroom were on the menu nightly.īut with the onset of AIDS in the mid – late 80’s, sexual habits were changing and the gay community was reassessing itself. And was always the place to go.īack in those days it’s patrons loved the isolation and the raw masculinity of this dark sexual playground and bar on the West Side Highway. “The Eagle” was open 7 days a week including holidays.
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With a few coats of black paint and an old beat up motorcycle for decoration, a gay institution was born. Street, NYC’s The Eagle’s Nest was originally a longshoreman’s bar called the Eagle Open Kitchen from 1931 – 1970 which was then acquired by Jack Modica who turned the rough and tumble pub into a Leather/ Levi bar