Fragmentary seems like the most appropriate word to describe the history and culture of oppressed people, and especially the LGBTQ+ community. Our heritage and culture has often gone undocumented for fear of unintentionally providing information that could lead to unwanted trouble from our oppressors. Call it a fail safe, if you will, but the end result was/is a huge loss of LGBTQ+ history prior to the 1980s.
In other instances, our history was often deemed as insignificant or unworthy of being saved by those in a position of power to make decisions about historical preservation. As late as the mid 1990s I can still recall the shock I felt when I was informed by a periodical librarian at the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library that copies of locally produced gay and lesbian publications were thrown away when each new edition arrived, unlike the mainstream straight newspapers and magazines, which were typically archived.
When I inquired as to why, the librarian shot me an incredulous look and replied with a patronizing tone: “We have to make decisions about what we save based on their literary and cultural merit. We have limited space. Do you honestly expect us to save everything?”
Tens of thousands of gay, lesbian and transgender individuals around the country who came out at a young age in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties have their own unique experiences — each defined by their own personal life journey, location and time period. Prior to the advent of the internet and social media apps, the place to meet others like you with shared interests, were community bars and nightclubs. History was made in those places.
Regrettably, much of that history has been lost, but not all. Here’s our list of LGBTQ+ clubs that existed during the latter decades of the 20th century, and continue to thrive today.
Scorpio opened in 1968, originally on South Boulevard. The Scorpio Lounge, as it was known at the time, was popular among gay men, lesbians and some of Charlotte’s earliest drag queens to socialize, among them Boom Boom Latour, who was just getting started in drag career that would last a lifetime.
In an interview with this writer during the late 2000s, the since deceased legendary drag diva talked about her experiences at the time. “I would hang out there (at Scorpio) with some of the popular strippers of the time, like Morganna, and that singer Alicia Bridges, who had a big disco hit a decade later with “I Love the Nightlife.” I didn’t perform there so much initially, because they started off turning their noses up at drag queens, but times changed and I worked there a lot by the late ’70s and throughout the 1980s.”
In its earlier days, though, the club clientele grew quickly and the business eventually moved to Freedom Drive for a larger space in then-brand new digs with a road ahead full of success, and trouble.
Among the most sensational criminal incidents in LGBTQ bar history were the Scorpio fires. The first took place during the late 1970s and closed the club for more than a year. It is thought the fire was set by criminal elements seeking protection racket money to keep the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police at bay. Scorpio was only one of several clubs burned (the others were all straight) throughout a multi-year period during the last half of the 1970s. The second fire took place during the mid-1980s.
That was during a golden period for the city’s gay and lesbian nightlife, with multiple (and newer) dance clubs as options, but also pulling crowds away from Scorpio in droves. The impact of the newly competing clubs only lasted for a brief time, however.
The owners of a one such business realized that Scorpio was reclaiming its clientele, so they hatched a plan to put an end to it’s returning success.
Set in the early morning hours of a night when Scorpio was closed, the damage from the second fire once again resulted in the closing of the club, leaving nothing in the form of a dance club for the community to congregate at on the city’s west side other than – conveniently – the pyro-minded competitor’s club.
Although details on how the determination was made are unclear, two owners and one employee of the club were arrested, charged and convicted with setting the fire. Eventually, all of them spent time in prison. By decade’s end, club pyro faded into history and the Scorpio Lounge had long since reopened, continuing to keep club-goers happy enoug that they continued to return.
Now, with a history dating back 50 years, the club is known simply as Scorpio and it still operates at the same location as it did, with no further attempts at arson. While it still identifies as a gay-specific nightspot offering drag shows, dancing and drinking, in recent years it has become increasingly popular with a straight crowd, too.
In a business with an average lifespan for a nightclub or bar at or around around five years, Scorpio has outlived the status quo more than ten times over.
Located at 2301 Freedom Drive in Charlotte, you can visit their website at www.thescorpio.com or check out social media pages for info on events and hours of operation.
O.Henry’s first opened its doors in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 13, 1976. The oldest gay bar in Asheville and one of the oldest in North Carolina, it was initially called the Skylight Room and located at 59 Haywood Street.
During it’s early days the business served as both a bar and restaurant, attracting employees of various downtown businesses to the spot for lunch. The ambiance was unique for the Southeast and the mid-1970s: Victorian decor, walls adorned with portraits of famous authors and background jazz music by the likes of Billie Holiday. It was also the first business in downtown Asheville to stay open past midnight and one of the few that allowed customers to purchase a beer or glass of wine.
Although the establishment was not initially intended to be a specific LGBTQ+ night spot, it became widely known as welcoming for our community when owners and management made the decision to switch the daytime jazz at 8 p.m. to evening dance music and jumped on board the disco bandwagon in 1977.
That move attracted a bevy of queer patrons on Friday and Saturday nights and prompted the business to change its name to O.Henry’s, which gave it a masculine over tone and allowed it to acknowledge the region’s literary heritage.
In the years that followed multiple LGBTQ+ owned and friendly businesses would find a home in the neighborhood surrounding O.Henry’s. The result was revitalization, and the once nearly lifeless downtown area rebounded, becoming a go-to destination attracting both Asheville residents and the many tourists that would come to the area.
These days O.Henry’s primary focus is on the bar business, and is located just outside of downtown Asheville, now at 237 Haywood Street. In its newer location, it even has a basement dance floor. Popular with multiple subcultures and a diverse age range within the LGBTQ+ community, just last year it was recognized by Esquire magazine as one of the best gay clubs in the country for 2022.
For additional details on O. Henry’s, visit their website at www.ohenrysofasheville.com.
The Capital Club, located in downtown Columbia just one block away from the state capitol building, originally opened in 1980. It is the oldest LGBTQ Club in the city and one of the top four oldest in the Carolinas. While images on social media depict a diverse clientele revved up and ready to have fun not unlike most LGBTQ+ bars, the party spot is noted time and again across the interwebs as “South Carolina’s most dignified and refined private gay bar.”
While we didn’t want to jump to conclusions about what message they were trying to convey with those words or what it implied about other gay bars in South Carolina, we’re pleased as punch to agree it is tastefully decorated and does appear to have what some might consider an “upper crust” ambiance of sorts.
However, after extensive internet research, we eventually discovered just what the “dignified and refined” tip of the hat meant: code speak for closeted, “top drawer” and “exclusive” in ways that are completely unacceptable.
An article that appeared in the Carolina News and Reporter in 2022 confirms the club’s longevity and the sad fact that a city of such size now only has two gay bars, following a time in the 1980s when it boasted 13 different gay clubs simultaneously. In the story penned by Caleb Bozard, the writer takes a look back at the LGBTQ community’s “self-segregated” past in Columbia – a time when the clubs were predominantly patronized by partiers of only one gender, one sexuality and one race. Although everyone was a part of the LGBTQ+ community, they didn’t intermingle.
The Capital Club appeared to serve a predominantly white and somewhat older gay male clientele and insisted on a specified code and conduct.
Writes Bozard: “the members only club, dubbed a cigar bar, played classical, opera and Broadway show recordings on vinyl. It had no dance floor or stage; rather it boasted heavy, dark, English-pub style furniture. Collared shirts were required. Shorts were only permissible in the summer. Drag was not allowed. Judges, politicians and other high profile members of the community would come in secret.”
While many aspects of the Capital Club’s past are an unpleasant memory, the current state of mind is decidedly progressive and confirms the business needs to take a look back at some of their earlier promotional schtick and do a rewrite. These days, their membership is far more diverse, the dress code is no longer a part of policy and new owners made the decision to host drag shows in 2014, which continue to attract both straight and LGBTQ+ crowds.
While the décor hasn’t changed much and there’s still no evidence of a dance floor, ownership, employees and club-goers are diverse and welcoming. More information on the Capital Club, located at 1002 Gervais Street, can be found on their website at www.capitalclubsc.com.
Club Cabaret opened in Hickory, North Carolina in 1980. Located at 101 N. Center Street in the heart of town, the club is housed in a historic two-story brick building that was originally constructed in 1900, which would make the structure over 120 years old! While Club Cabaret has occupied the building for over 40 impressive years, that’s just a small fraction of its total lifespan.
Although there have been no reports of spiritual manifestations from past clientele or previous tenants, both the club and the building have been around long enough we’re certain if the walls could talk they’d have plenty of stories to share.
A peek inside the 4,500 square foot building show that sections of the second story floor have been removed in order to provide a higher ceiling, along with the addition of a stage performance area, dance floor and multiple bars. The club attracts a mix of clientele, although most appear to range in age from 20-something to 40-something. Options for the LGBTQ+ community are limited in Hickory, so it isn’t uncommon to see clientele in their 50s and 60s on occasion, as well. As its name implies, Club Cabaret is extremely popular for drag revue shows and boasts a regular cast of performers, as well as regularly recurring guests.
Like most predominantly gay and lesbian clubs that have survived as long as Club Cabaret, the club itself has evolved along with the times and straight patrons who enjoy drag performances attend the club, as well. The best resource for more details on Club Cabaret is their Facebook page. Despite the club’s successful 44 years in operation, their website appears to be largely abandoned.
Rock Hill’s Hide-a-Way, which opened in 1989, has served residents of the South Carolina town and the Charlotte Metro region now for 35 years. Housed in an unusual and out-of-the-way structure befitting of its name, the club is open Thursday with free pool and gaming; Friday with Karaoke and Saturday for their midnight drag show. The space itself is a sizable 4,500 square feet and includes a live performance stage, dance floor area and multiple bars. Regular drag performers include Cierra Nichole, Dixie Evans, Jamie Monroe, Victoria LeFaris and others. Check out their Facebook page for constantly updated information on upcoming events.
Raleigh’s Legends Nightclub opened in June, 1991. At 330 W. Hargett Street near the corner of South Harrington, Legends is the final entry on our list of long-lasting nightclubs. Now in business for more than 30 years, the club’s website says they’ve hosted hundreds of entertainers and served thousands of patrons. Considering that they’ve been in business for a period of time that has touched four separate decades, we think it’s far more likely they’ve served tens of thousands club-goers. For the time being, Legends is open Friday through Monday, offering nightly dancing and drag shows from a house cast that includes Chloe Cassidy, Kirby Kolby, Emory Starr, Dana St. James and Alexandra Vittz. However, contradicting news sources first reported in 2022 the building had been sold to make way for a 30-story residential tower, but the owners of the club had plans to reopen elsewhere, although no new location had been confirmed. A later report indicated the club would be remaining in its current location. Who knows? We’ll keep you updated as information becomes available.In the meantime, for specific show times and special events, visit their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Their website is wonky and appears to have been only partially updated since 2016.