Gay bar bloomington in
Olive Lykins (left) and Sara Gardner. Photo by James Kellar
BY LIBBY PETERSON
After falling victim to a homophobic insult while out dancing last year, Olive Lykins decided that he had had enough. “That’s it,” he thought. “Bloomington needs a safe, fun place to dance where people will get your back if something like that happens.” Lykins teamed up with Sara Gardner to open a “queer bar” called The Back Door in the alley behind The Atlas Bar on South College.
Though it officially opened on Valentine’s Evening, The Back Door had been hosting underground parties for months while still under renovation, including a Halloween Curious Cabaret and a New Year’s Eve party. It’s as much a performance space as a bar, Gardner says; burlesque dancers, drag shows, and hula-hoopers are just some of the acts so far.
“The bar developed this ‘what is going on here’ feel to it,” Lykins says. “And this is the perfect place to question your perceptions. It can acquire a little wild.” Inside, people can sit and chat on church pews or dance on casket holders used as tables. Local artist Jordan Trendelman
Welcome to the 'gayborhood': LGBTQ transplants on finding B-N's evolving queer community
Adjusting to a novel place can be tough. But for LGBTQ people, moving to a novel city can be especially complicated.
Lawrence Lair is a Twin Cities transplant originally from San Diego.
“Living in California was becoming untenable,” said Lair. Escalating housing costs were making life unaffordable for Lair and their spouse.
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Lawrence Lair
“We both work, but we couldn’t support the rent that we had to pay along with the cost of living,” they said. “We weren’t able to put anything away in savings, and we calculated out that, at this rate, we would own a house, uh, never.”
Lair looked at several states for a possible move. A graphic design job at Illinois State University brought them here.
“Deciding to move out of California as a queer person of color, there’s a lot of things to consider,” Lair said.
Lair moved to Bloomington-Normal in at the height of the pandemic and against a backdrop of discrimination against people of Asian descent.
“There was a lo
Was Bloomington's first gay bar in the Irish Lion building? What we initiate about its history
After its closure in May, the Irish Lion Restaurant and Pub now joins the long and dramatic history of the West Kirkwood building it inhabited for over four decades. The building is currently listed for sale by Chris Cockerham with FC Tucker/Bloomington Realtors.
Here are some of the highlights from over a century of articles from The Herald-Times and Bloomington Evening World archives.
West Kirkwood: Saloons, hotels and a questionable reputation
The Irish Lion building began in as a pub and inn, according to the restaurant’s website. A map of the city in shows the inn as Bundy’s European Hotel, a safe haven for travelers on the nearby railroad and boarding house tenants. There was a saloon on the first floor.
The building has long been rumored to have provided salacious services. Though no specific building was mentioned, a newspaper article about county fairs in the s described “questionable women shows” that would verb place at the equitable before being transferred to the inns and
Gay Bar Books: a panel exploration on their importance with Gerber/Hart
What&#;s the importance of a gay bar, queer space, lesbian night club or otherwise space specifically designed for the LGBTQIA+ community?
Join us on August 1st for this free / pay-what-you-can panel in collaboration with Gerber/Hart LGBTQIA+ library and archives to dive into this topic with authors Krista Burton (Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America) and Greggor Mattson, PhD(Who Needs Gay Bars? Bar-Hopping through America’s Endangered LGBTQ+ Places).
Doors at 6pm and our panel discussion begins at 7pm. Dorothy remains open after the panel until 11pm with late night content hour from pm.
This event is free with any collected donations going back to G/H, our host and our authors.
Dorothy is 21+ and requires physical ID for all to enter. Dorothy is also ADA accessible with elevator access on Campbell Avenue. If you are a guest who requires elevator access, please wait by the black doors on Campbell Ave and dial our staff to assist: