Now, developers are razing most of the structure to make way for a large mixed-use project.Īnother lost establishment mentioned by Rojas is Arthur J’s coffee shop, once located at the intersection of Highland and Santa Monica. Eventually, it grew into a destination for LGBT people of color, lasting into the new millennium as an EDM venue. The popular disco formed in response to prejudice within the gay community, as one of its founders told LA Weekly in 2015. The latter club, established in 1974, was formerly located at Santa Monica Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue. "The dance floors of such Hollywood and North Hollywood clubs as the Outer Limits, Other Side, Paradise Ballroom, Sugar Shack, After Dark, Gino’s II, and, ultimately, Circus were where we communicated with our bodies – an essential, enduring part of our queer development and identity," he writes. During this time, underused storefronts and warehouses with low rents became intimate dance clubs by night-often, as Rojas points out, in spaces smaller than 3,000 square feet.įor Rojas and his friends, who grew up in East LA, the small nightclubs became refuges from the expectations of family and community: So many articles have been written saying gay bars will become obsolete, and I find that comforting to know that people believe no matter your sexuality so people can be themselves freely, but in the same breath I believe that gay bars have historically been the place for the LGBTQ community to come together with comfort and ease. The community needs to continue to support gay bars as they are a part of the gay culture and a home for many who don’t have one.West Hollywood has long been the rainbow-draped capital of the gay community in Los Angeles, but in an article for KCET, city planner James Rojas describes the diverse and somewhat under-the-radar gay disco circuit of 1970s Hollywood.
Why are place like Pulse so important to support? We were never exclusive of any person’s cause. We did many events with straight allies to help raise money for their causes. We were advocates to the education and prevention of HIV/AIDS by providing protection, support and contacts for anyone in need. Pulse was a place that helped raise funds for big charities, small charities, all local it also helped raise funds for my entertainers who wanted to raise money to help them enter pageants. There are so many stories I would hear about that and I think that’s another part of what made us successful.įor outsiders who might imagine Pulse as just a gay bar, a club, or a place to go and drink, what sort of role did it play as part of Orlando’s local LGBT community? My bartenders would actually remember their drinks and faces. People who visited Orlando would come year after year. What about the clientele? Were there more new faces, or regulars? Is it the vibe? The people? What set Pulse apart?
Gay bars are an important part of the gay culture for that very reason.
#CALIFORNIA GAY BAR SHOOTING FREE#
I can’t speak for all of them, but I imagine that LGBTQ people were looking for a place they knew they would be comfortable and free to express themselves.
I remember there used to be buses that came from the Disney/tourist area to drop off guests who would then return on their own during their stays. Orlando is one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations with plenty of places to blow off some steam, so why did people gravitate towards Pulse rather than somewhere in, say, Downtown Disney? We spoke to Poma about what Pulse meant to that community, and why places like it are worth protecting. Whether or not Pulse becomes another club, it’s hard to imagine the location won’t become a kind of monument in Orlando to those who, through the decades, created real culture in the land of Mickey Mouse, or as a destination for Latino and LGBT people. At least until the events of June 12, when Omar Mateen took the lives of 49 patrons, and sent 53 more to the hospital.įrank Ocean Reacts to Orlando: ‘Many People Hate Us and Wish We Didn’t Exist’ĭespite the nightmare that unfolded at the club in those early morning hours, Poma has vowed to reopen. Orlando Police Finish Investigation: ‘What’s Left Is Profound Sadness’įor Orlando, a city with a strong local LGBT community that also stands as one of America’s top tourist destinations, Pulse became the safe haven that Poma and co-founder Ron Legler envisioned.