Gay bars la crosse
Transcript
Location: Corner of 2nd St. North and Main St.
I came to La Crosse in the year 2000 in the spring to interview and I realized in the process of my interview that this was a very nice place for me because there were a lot of “out” gay faculty and administrators. At that point there were three gay bars, there was also a lesbian lock. The bar that we most often went to was then called “Players.” “Players” then was across the street from the big U.S. Bank building downtown. So we would park in there and then we would all lock our cars and then we’d walk as a group into the elevator and as a group come out and march across the avenue and be in the bar.
I think that we used to do that because I think we felt safe. It was a time when I think a lot of society was already reveal, but we had heard about stories of men being beat or organism harassed by college students or by women. For a long time there were groups of direct women, college age vertical women, who would appear to the gay exclude just to look, notice who was gay, who was out, who wasn’t. So I think a lot of that scared a lot of the college men from coming out to the bars at least earlier in the day when these gradually get
Gay Bars and Unbent Chicks
I meant to post this last week, but a nasty stomach flu knocked me out of action for several days. On to the blog…
On my last see to La Crosse (Wisconsin), I went to a lock called Players with a couple of long-time friends. Players is neither flashy nor unpleasant, sort of a operational class gay exclude. During the three hours that we were there, three separate groups of straight women came in, possibly to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day—who doesn’t move to their neighborhood gay bar to feel a minute Irish? Most of the women were wearing glow necklaces and earrings that flashed on and off, apparel that no self-respecting queer man would ever wear to a gay bar, even for St. Patrick’s Day.
I find this spectacle confusing and rather unsettling, honestly. After all, I remember when male lover bars were so stigmatized that even gay men were ashamed to travel there. There was usually no subscribe, no windows, you entered through the back door (no matter how many ways I tried to write that point it sounded dirty), and the interior was smoky and dimly lit.
What a contrast. The bar today has windows, a rainbow sticker near the bar’s name, and a front door. It’s still dimly lit a
We have limited information about Michael's bar in La Crosse. A contributor has shared to the Facebook group that Michaels' was the first gay bar opened in La Crosse by Michael Hanson. He relates the monitoring information:
In 1966, La Crosse's gays and lesbians became more observable to non-queers thanks to the first gay bar, "Michael's" which operated until 1969 on Third Street South, between King Avenue and Jay Street. It was a mixed lesbian and male lover bar and was a godsend for community members who would otherwise have to travel to the Twin Cities or Madison.
Its owner, Michael, opened other homosexual bars: first "The Red Lion" on 120 Third Street, which he operated from 1970 to 1976 and primarily attracted working-class women and college students. Hanson then sold the property to two other gay men, who kept it a gay and lesbian bar from 1976 to 1981.
Hanson invested in a third property, "Mother's", which he ran from 1978 until 1982. "Mother's" was a small but well-liked joint, and on Saturday nights its dance floor accommodated sweaty crowds of nearly 100 who danced to disco music. It was located on 223 Pearl Street, around the corner from "The Red Lion."
Throughout the
'View the bar's Facebook page.
Chances R lock in La Crosse replaced 'Rainbow's End' in this location. Rainbow's End had been a trendy bar in La Crosse since around 1994, then in either August or September 2008, its name was changed to 'Chances R' and with a different owner. (It is identified as female-owned on Google Maps.)
While the lock was listed in the Bar Reference of Quest magazine through its last issue (late 2018), we have not yet located any advertisements or photos of 'Chances R' in Quest or other Wisconsin LGBT periodicals of the time. However the bar has actively posted photos and event updates on their Facebook page since at least 2010. The lock is still uncover as of September 2022.
Any information about this business is welcomed from anyone who can contribute it.
February 2018 | ||