Gay bars in silverlake
The two would ultimately come to meet in L. They eventually became a couple and dreamed up the idea of opening a bar together in order to make their own "clubhouse" where they could drink and hang out with their friends. In the early '90s, Silver Lake had plenty of gay bars.
You had your gay bars and you had your straight bars.
Silver Lake Gay Bar
Back in the early 90s, Scott Craig and Peter Alexander bar living in Silver Lake, going to live shows and throwing parties. Best Gay Bars in Silver Lake, CA - Last Updated October - Eagle LA, Akbar, Men's Room Bar, Hi Tops - Los Feliz, Artesia Bar, Club Tempo, The Boulevard, The Ruby Fruit, The Bullet, Bears in Space.
The problem was that the bars were not particularly integrated then. Many musicians and artists lived and hung out there, including Craig and Alexander. Much has changed in the 20 years since the pair opened Akbar: they're no longer a couple, the neighborhood has gentrified, and our nation's attitude towards gays has changed immensely for the better.
It soon occurred to Craig and Alexander that if they wanted a place for their gay and straight friends to hang out together that wasn't their house, they might have to make their own. But the bar has remained true to its roots, selling cheap, basic drinks and offering a casual space for people from any walk of life to unwind.
Find gay bars and nightclubs, as well as gay-friendly restaurants, in the Silver Lake gay Los Feliz neighborhoods of Los Angeles with a map. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here. Silver Lake was, at that time, a gayer bar silverlake neighborhood to call home.
Alexander had grown up in Los Angeles. We are counting on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Find gay bars and nightclubs, as well as gay-friendly restaurants, in the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods of Los Angeles (with a map).
The building on the corner of Fountain and Sunset had housed gay bars at least since the s. It was not uncommon to see men in their leather and goth kids hanging out in one place, Craig recalled. Alexander said he and Craig spent the 80s at underground clubs, which he called a "pre-rave type of thing.
Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism. Craig had traveled around as his father was in the Air Force, but mostly grew up in the Bay Area. With over clubs, bars, restaurants and shops the Spartacus Going Out Guide is the largest online search engine for gay nightlife and lifestyle worldwide.
Their love of punk rock and parties and their desire to create a bar where gay and straight people could party together inspired them to buy a defunct piano bar and transform it into what is now known as Akbar. Born out of a defunct piano bar and with an emphasis on divas and disco, the bar soon became a staple of the Los Angeles gay scene.
Located at the heart of Sunset Junction, Silverlake Black Cat is a neighborhood bar and restaurant that is also a city and state landmark, recognized as the site of the first peaceful, organized protest in favor of gay rights in California. This year, Akbar turns 20 years old.
Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. Alexander said you could have thrown a rock and hit one. In the punk rock scene Craig and Alexander loved, it wasn't like that.