Cleveland gay clubs

The Cadillac Lounge opened at 2016 East 9th Street in 1946. Owned by Cleveland bar and restaurant entrepreneur Gloria Lenihan, the Cadillac Lounge was one of the first openly gay-friendly bars to operate in Cleveland. The Cadillac Lounge provided a relatively tolerant social space for same-sex attracted men in Cleveland to socialize and congregate for nearly 27 years. Nestled within the Schofield Building (2016 E. 9th St.) in downtown Cleveland, the Cadillac Lounge contained a full 2-story bar and lounge that regularly hosted live musical show. The bar, a “long, narrow room” lined with grand mirrors, featured lavish wood paneling, velvet and leather booths, and a variety of large tropical murals painted by artist William C. Grauer. Unlike the few other gay-friendly bars in Cleveland throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the upscale and relatively lavish Cadillac Lounge was regularly celebrated by patrons as being “comparatively spotless, well-lit, and adequately furnished.” Like its contemporaries, however, the Cadillac Lounge was a frequent objective of Cleveland’s Board of Liquor Rule and received numerous liquor-related citations throughout the 1950s.

During the daytime, the Cadillac Lounge c

A Place to Thrive

Trivia Night! Every Wednesday – Cleveland, Ohio

Muze Gastropub

Put your brain to the test with our ultimate trivia challenges! Studio West is partnering with Sporcle to bring you trivia EVERY Wednesday! Free to play. Prize giveaway! Trivia reservations at trivia.sw117.com. 1st place team gets their tab covered on us — up to $50!* Check out our happy hour and daily specials at SW117.com/menu. […]

Group Meal (Free)

Muze Gastropub

Visit the Lakewood Fieldhouse, in the private dining room of Muze Gastropub, for a FREE Community Meal. No charge or reservation required. Everyone is welcome. Come and dine-in at 4pm or take something to go! ***While Quantities Last*** This is a program of The Diverse Community Health & Wellness Foundation, an agency of the Greater […]

The Nine of Clubs, a gay-friendly alternative dance club, opened at 1273 West 9th Street in 1986. Nine of Clubs was a pioneering force in Cleveland’s early alternative and underground nightclub scenes. Nine of Clubs co-owners Donna Gallo, Bruce Madorsky, and Jon Cole purchased the former Traxx building to open a distinct club “catering to people who treasure to drink, sway, and party.” The small club was decorated in a gray and purple color scheme, with gray brick walls and dark floors located throughout. Past the front doors and down a short flight of stairs, the subterranean Nine of Clubs sported a block, as DJ booth, and a relatively small 22′ by 36′ dancefloor. The dance floor, surrounded by two “large mirrored walls,” featured disco balls, neon lights, and a series of multicolor pre-programmed light shows. Aside from the multicolor overhead demonstrate lights overhead, the dancefloor area itself was generally dimly lit. For many clubgoers, the club’s darkness was an essential part of its appeal. Gallo noted that “if the lights were too bright, the club wouldn’t perform. People would touch uncomfortable. But by the rooms entity dimly

History of Gay Bars

With this being National LGBTQ History Month, I also believe it is important to celebrate the present. Our city, Cleveland, has had a few victories this year that definitely desire celebrating. While we still have a fight ahead of us, acknowledging where we have made advances gives us strength to fight on. Share with me in this and know that each of you are a part of this.

Say what you want, but gay bars have been the cornerstones of LGBTQ culture for a very long moment. They have been sanctuary, front lines of rebellion, keystones to neighborhoods, and starts of our “out lives”. As we advance forward through our history, we are seeing a decline in those establishments.

In the 1960s, as Brand-new York’s gay community started coming into its hold, we needed a place where we could appear together without fear of reprisals. Until that show, there were laws in place, in most of the country that homosexual men could not be served in public. All it took was for a bartender to consider you were gay for them to not attend you and even hold you arrested. Sit to close to another guy, busted. Touch a guy that looked intimate, cops showed up and probably smashed your head