#HISTORY GAY BARS FORT LAUDERDALE PLUS#
An ad in "Where the Action Is" bragged about the Landing's "intimate Cruisy Atmosphere, For the Late, Late Crowd," open till 5 a.m., "that wants a cozy place to cruise," with "Most Drinks 75¢" - certainly a plus for a kid who was working his way through college. corner of 8th Street and Le Jeune - the first floor was occupied by a straight strip bar - the Second Landing began its career as Step Mother's, was Bachelor's West in the brief period it was owned by the same people who owned Bachelor's II on Coral Way, and became the Second Landing in 1975. Located on the second floor of a building on the S.W. I much preferred the nearby Second Landing, so much in fact that I was a regular there. I never cared for El Carol, a long-lasting "mixed" bar on LeJeune Road, a block South of Calle Ocho. Near the Warehouse VIII, there were several gay or mixed taverns.
It was also a late bar (closing time, 5 a.m.), which allowed us to party all night, drag ourselves over to the Dunkin' Donut across the street for coffee, and get back to our family homes before Mami and Papi woke up. Upstairs is a swinging bar, but not too friendly to outsiders," unless, of course, you were young and cute.
"The Gay Insider USA" described the Warehouse as a "Huge place suspended horse-drawn cart pool tables. 8th Street and 36th Avenue, this former warehouse (hence the name) boasted a huge dance floor, a Levi-leather bar in the back, a cruise bar upstairs, and a rooftop where anything could happen. In 1974, Miami's gay action was centered around the Warehouse VIII. Fortunately, I soon learned from the gayvine where the action really was. Discreet gentlemen in dark suits sipped martinis while listening to Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand records on the jukebox. Located on a side street, the Nook acted as if the Stonewall Riots never happened. Though I visited the Nook several times, it was never my favorite hangout. I found out about the Nook by chance: I was working as an usher in a theater on Ponce de Leon Blvd when one of my co-workers happened to mention the existence of a "queer bar" nearby. Significantly, my first gay bar (1973) was the Nook, Coral Gables' only gay bar. And I was too late to enjoy Googie's, a hot spot immortalized by Jack Nichols in his memoir "The Tomcat Chronicles." But somehow I managed to visit virtually every other openly gay male bar in Miami-Dade County, save for a couple of Miami Beach or West Miami taverns. Interestingly, I never went to the Cactus Lounge on Biscayne Boulevard, which till its demolition a couple of years ago had the distinction of being the only 1974 gay bar in South Florida still in existence. The lack of a car was a detriment, since it limited me to a great degree to bars that I could get to by foot or bus or ride. Lack of money did not bother me since student discounts and the kindness of friends and strangers often helped me get through. Never before or since would I frequent so many pubs or clubs, or as often, as I did back then. The years between 19 were also my gay bar years. Nor did they include the other places where gay guys cruised and socialized: the Club Miami and Regency Baths the 21st Street and Virginia Beaches Bayfront Park Florida Pharmacy Rio Theater Danny's Book Store Downtown YMCA the Greyhound Bus Station, and so on. They did not include the "down low" mixed taverns that catered to minorities. A 1975 bar rag, "Where the Action Is" - whose only claim to fame is that one of its contributors was a 21-year old newcomer named Jesse Monteagudo - listed 13 mainland bars and 6 Beach bars. In his 1972 directory, "The Gay Insider USA," author John Paul Hudson (writing as John Francis Hunter) listed 15 gay or mixed pubs and clubs in the mainland (including Coconut Grove and Coral Gables) and 8 queer watering holes on the Beach.
In fact, there were more gay watering holes in Miami Beach - and certainly in the Miami mainland - than there are today. The legal drinking age was 18, which made things very convenient for a young gay man who was just coming out.Ī gay kid had many places to choose from in 1974. Not only were there far fewer raids than before, but local laws that made it a crime for "known homosexuals" to be served liquor or congregate in a tavern were overturned. As my fictional alter-ego, Joe Martinez, said in one of his adventures, "Miami was a candy store for a young gay guy just out of the closet." With no AIDS in sight, and most venereal diseases treated with a simple shot, it was "the golden age of gay sexuality." It was also a golden age for Miami-Dade County's lesbian and gay bar scene. Miami in the 1970's was a great time to be young and gay.