Old gay bars in atlanta
Historic Atlanta Eagle, first gay landmark in Southeast, devastated by massive fire
Old Atlanta Eagle site severely damaged in fire
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a substantial fire at the former Atlanta Eagle nightclub in Midtown. The Atlanta Eagle is one of the most iconic landmarks in Atlanta's LGBTQ+ and now it's in ruins.
ATLANTA - Officials are assessing the extent of the break to the historic building which once housed Atlanta’s first gay nightclub. A massive fire tore through the Atlanta Eagle on Thursday evening.
While the nightclub has relocated post-pandemic, the historic significance of the building left vacant, is not lost on the LGBTQ+ community.
Historic Atlanta Eagle nightclub
"It has a lot of history for us. It was the first building to be designated as a landmark for the male lover community in the Southeast," said Richard Ramey, owner of the Atlanta Eagle.
The building that housed the Atlanta Eagle until November 2020 dates back to 1989, while its neighboring Kodak Building boasts a history stretching back to 1905. Both structures were originally part of an expansive residential property before being
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Ruby Redd’s Birdcage Bingo
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Rock Haus Karaoke with your host Raqi and Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus
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Atlanta Eagle Cabaret – Saturday Night Spectacular
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🌞 Mother’s Sunday Funday presents: TEA-REX 🦖✨
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Sunday Stampede!
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Head Space Upstairs / Underwear Night Downstairs No Cover Down
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The Atlanta Eagle is significant for its long-time association to the LGBTQ collective and as an terrific example of a historic home altered for commercial use during the 20th century as Ponce De Leon Ave shifted from an upper class residential boulevard to a commercial corridor . The property is historically significant in the LGBTQ community as a site of social interaction; as a site that is associated with the historic pattern of policing, harassment, and social control of the LGBTQ community; and as a site associated to Ru Paul Charles.
The building, originally built as a single-family home in 1898, has been home to outsider communities like the LGBTQ community since 1985. Over the past 35 years, the building has developed strong LGBTQ significance during its use as Star Club, Renegade’s Saloon, and The Atlanta Eagle.
Historic Atlanta’s successful advocacy on behalf of the building’s preservation has resulted in Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Department of City Planning’s Office of Design nominating the building for landmark status- a zoning designation that would protect the building from demolition and require endorsement for exterior cha
Bars
Atlanta’s gay population has been gathering in bars and clubs since at least the 1950s, when the Tic Toc lounge was in business. More bars opened during the 1960s, and then after lgbtq+ liberation took hold, the bar scene floourished. Although members of the LGBT+ communities felt welcomeed and safe in these spaces, the bars, their owners, and the patrons did experience discrimination, harassment, and violence.
“There was a lot more of a male lover bar culture back then because those were our safe places, and those were sort-of our collective centers. It’s where we could go and be ourselves with other people like us.”
Andrew Wood, June 24, 2014
Show Bars
“At one time, we had at least five show bars, doing shows six or seven nights a week. And they would acquire eight to ten entertainers. There’s two to three male entertainers to act the production work, and the rest would be drag queens. You had choreographers, seamstresses, and costume designers for the prooduction work we did.”
Mr. Charlie Brown, March 26, 2019
“AIDS put a lot of people into a panic, and then a lot of people didn’t move out as much. I think the w Published in a 1987 series titled “The Shaping of Atlanta,” Auchmutey’s article describes the “influences” and numerous contributions of gay and lesbian Atlantans from their power as a voting bloc to their “renovation of intown neighborhoods.” As numerous and powerful as they may be, Auchmutey notes that “no one interviewed for [his] article could call a single prominent Atlantan who is openly gay.”2 Further, Auchmutey’s article depicts a tension among Atlanta’s gay-and-lesbian-identifying citizens between those who desire more out, overt, and direct political action and those who do not see a need for such activist organization. Auchmutey interviews Atlanta business-owner Frank Powell, who states, “Reputable gay people don’t carry signs in the streets. I witness those people on the news and they peer like creatures out of a weird movie. I would never do that. I have nephews and nieces in this
Once Upon a Time in Atlanta: Staging Revolution from the Gay Bar
“Certainly,” Jim Auchmutey of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Atlanta is “the gay oasis of the South—the place with the most gay bars and the most same-sex attracted churches” of any metropolis in the southeastern Together States. 1