Leon’s of Baltimore is still there! Let’s list GREAT old seedy gay bars, fellow elder gays!

Ah, Leon’s. An indestructible institution. It will still be there after the apocalypse, like Cher and cockroaches.

I’m not going to say I “miss” it, per se, but it was a place you could reliably buy poppers at noon on a Sunday, and there was a certain charm to that

I LOVED that bar when I lived nearby in DC.

Had some great times in a bar that had a bit of every kind of guy with zero attitude. Very hot regular, and often blue collar, guys. A great mix of men.

That was a while ago for me; I hope it hasn't changed.

I know it's a lesbian bar (I mean, it was), but The Sundown Lounge in Lancaster, PA, was so sleazy that back in the day, I could barely make myself go in it. I preferred the D-Gem on Front St. in Harrisburg, which played the latest disco music. Those were the days!

And for you gentlemen, Stallions (est. 1985) is still there in downtown Harrisburg (right across from the Capitol Building, of course) with three levels available for your pleasure!

The two run down bars in my NYC neighborhood in the 80s/90s were The Bike Stop and The Candle.

Of the two, The Bike Stop was a little nicer. I don’t know what they were really like because I was only in each briefly.

I am off topic - as neither is still around[bold] : ([/bold] Or in Baltimore for that matter.

Hi.

I went to Leon’s when I was living in Baltimore for an internship - I was maybe 19-20 yrs old and this was a long time ago - it was sooooo sleazy but fun, friendly sleazy. I used to go with a woman named Janice who practically lived there. Fun times!

I miss Club Hippo in Baltimore. A classic spot, though they never figured out they needed to update their music/DJ choices in the 2010s after people stopped doing crystal meth when they went out. The oonst oonst music was the death of them

Leon's is great but it ain't no BIKESTOP!

That place looks like if you turned on a black light, the entire interior would be blue from floor to ceiling.

Every new gay bar looks like a Frau paradise with faux white marble, fluorescent lights and shiplap. Oh and drag shows round the clock. So not sexy!

I prefer the Beaver Pelt, which is also in Baltimore

So many many seedy bars and clubs in NYC throughout the 80s. Those who were there remember all their favourites.

I did some searching on Leon's. Seems it may have been taken over by drag queens, as has happened to so many other gay bars. Too bad.

I'm so fucking tired of drag queens. Doesn't seem as if this phase will ever end.

R12 not true. I’ve actually never seen a drag queen at Leon’s. Not that there would be anything wrong with that. A lot of classic gay bars wouldn’t have gone broke if folks weren’t so exclusive about only wanting masc4masc guys there. Those days are over.

Their website

[quote]Last updated on 6/23/2010, 4:44:56 PM

Lists an "@aol.com" e-mail address.

Come on, some tech gay help them out.

Thanks for that website link R3! I came out in Lancaster and spent weekends at the Trolly Hole (Tally Ho). I was always cautioned to never go into the Sundown as a single male unless accompanied by a dyke or "bad things" could happen to me.

R4, I lived right around the corner from the Candle! This was 2005-6 or so.

Such a dive. But I loved it.

Sad it's gone now.

It appears that 'Leon's Backroom' hosts the drag queens, and it's connected to but a different location from Leon's the dive bar, so I screwed up Sorry. I didn't notice that the Instagram account shows both Leon's locations. They DO need some help with their social media.

R13

That's a mighty big jump from being tired of drag queens to 'only wanting masc4masc guys...' Try harder.

I don’t really drink, so no. Besides I’m Gen Z, apps are a market efficiency. Much more effective outcomes which don’t rely on poor lighting, poor choices, and poor lifestyle.

^ regardless of apps, the hard fought battles of the gay trailblazers before us have resulted in sufficient self determination and social acceptance that I’ve fucked more guys I’ve met casually IRL at the grocery store, on the sidewalk or at the gym than I have with yellow facebook.

R18

Leon's and Leon's backroom are connected by a hallway...Both have their own entrance so if you didn't walk to the other bar you would have no clue what is going on there

It was a sad reality when gays were left with no option but a refuge for altered perception and adverse selection.

Bars served their purpose but aren’t something to look back on fondly. It’s like saying “remember when we didn’t have penicillin or aspirin AND there was no fluoride in municipal water? Ahh, good times.”

Gen Z is always going on about the efficiency of the apps and yet, statistically, they're having less sex than previous generations. Something isn't mathing.

The Villa in Buffalo was awfully sketchy. Vince's/Vincent's in Cicero was an after hours bar -- at least it was when I was there at 6:00 AM. Cleo's on Ninth Avenue in New York; it was fun, maybe not terribly seedy; but it was one of the few places I would only drink bottled beer. The best was Club Napoleon in Boston. It had pretensions to class, and maybe was back in the 50s or 60s, but it was rather seedy by the time it was forced to close. Some great nights, many of which I actually remember.

The Candle Bar was a great place to buy terrible coke.

The Tally Ho, R15! I remember that place. I don't suppose you remember The Fidler? That's the first gay bar I was ever in when I was 18 (drinking age was 21, but no one questioned me).

The Corner Pocket is still kicking in New Orleans. Rough trade straight off the bus dancing on the bar and letting you feel them up for $1. It's John Waters' favorite stop in New Orleans.

The even-sleazier Le Roundup down the street sadly got sold to straight people. You could count on knock-down drag-out fist fights among the tranny street hookers.

I don't remember The Fidler R3, maybe it was closed by the time I was out in Lancaster? I was there in the early to mid-80's so I would go to the Ho, The Railroad House on Sunday nights (if I was off on Monday), Altlands's Ranch on occasion, and most of the bars in Harrisburg, especially the Neptune.

My liver hurts just thinking about all of those places. 😉

Oh, the Neptune, R27 -- speaking of sleazy! I was only in there once with a couple of guys I knew, and since it was a men's bar, I had no reason to ever go back.

Do you remember hearing that City Island (Hbg., PA) was chock full of old mattresses so the legislators could go over there and get a quickie over their lunch hour? I doubt that was just a rumor.

And yes, I first went to the Fidler in 1976, so I imagine you missed it.

Whoops, meant that for R25. I guess I did lose some brain cells from the good old days.

The Gray Fox in St. Louis - Southside (Oak Hill) seedy bar, nondescript in the more working class end of the neighborhood.

It's most noteworthy as the place where Coco was crowned as Miss Gay USA in 2010, replacing Alyssa Edwards, who was booted after she couldn't fulfill the organization's stipulations for appearances.

Alyssa had won the crown in St. Louis, too.

The Pink Lady...Denver

[quote]R19 I’ve fucked more guys I’ve met casually IRL at the grocery store, on the sidewalk or at the gym than I have with yellow facebook.

Is this a racial slur??

#NotCool

Sneakers NYC