Queer Dallas: Then and Now

Although some might not think of the South as being particularly LGBT-friendly, Dallas is home to a vibrant LGBT community. In 2014,  Out Magazine ranked Oak Lawn  as the best gayborhood in the United States. UCLA's Williams Institute has also found that Dallas is the city with the highest population of LGBT people in Texas.

By looking at historic guidebooks, magazines, and oral histories, this project aims to outline some of Dallas's gay history. Many buildings are still standing, although other businesses frequently occupy them. Some businesses (like Club Dallas) are still operating. This is not a complete history of LGBT life in Dallas. If you have additions, please send them!

One way that lesbians across the United States could find gay-friendly businesses was through a women's travel guide called Gaia's Guide, which used a star system to describe bars, organizations, and more. According to Alexandra Ketchum, a historian and professor at McGill University, while gay and lesbian travel guides mapped community, they also sought to mark safe areas for their readers.

A 1989 copy of Gaia's Guide describes itself as "a publication for women only. Every precaution is taken to prevent the information contained in Gaia's Guide from being used to jeopardize the security of your own scene. And, as far as it's possible, and with a few acknowledged exceptions, Gaia's Guide is never sold to men....And it's never sold in 'adult' bookstores of any kind."

 In an article , Ketchum writes that although the guides were influential in the pre-Internet era of the gay and lesbian movement, they centered middle class whiteness due to editor Sandy Horn's "representations of what was 'safe,' desirable, and enticing to readers." Gaia's Guide relied on reader submissions, and predominantly featured businesses that white, middle class lesbians thought of as being "safe." As Ketchum points out, "safety" is a racialized concept.

• Bon Soir is now Trader Joe's (4525 Cole Ave)
• Olive Branch Saloon is now Foxtrot Market (2822 McKinney Ave)
• T.J.'s is now Bread Winners Café & Bakery (3307 McKinney Ave)
• Three Plus You is now lesbian bar Sue Ellen's (3014 Throckmorton Ave)

Many of the bars featured in Gaia's Guide were aimed at gay men, but welcomed lesbians. This was especially true in Dallas, and in places with relatively few entries.

Gay bars show a similar distribution as lesbian bars. Most bars were centered around the city center.

Today's gay bars are clustered in the Oak Lawn neighborhood. However, this was not always the case. Historically, Dallas bars were more likely to be found in what is now Bryan Place/East Dallas, and Downtown Dallas.

To the left, the Dallas Gay Alliance celebrates a federal judge declaring Texas Penal Code 21.06 (a ban on homosexuality) unconstitutional.

• Machine Gun Kelly's is now a shopping plaza (4015 Lemmon Ave)
• The Swinger is now Sprezza (4006 Maple Ave)
• The Marlboro is now 18th & Vine (4100 Maple Ave)
• Lucas B&B Coffee Shop is now Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (3520 Oak Lawn Ave)
• The Barrel is now Mariscos La Reyna (2406 N. Fitzhugh Ave)

• As in other cities, bathhouses and cruising are important parts of Dallas gay history.
• Club Dallas is still Club Dallas (2616 Swiss Ave)
• Bachelor Quarters Bath (which shared a building with Entre Nuit) is now Candy & Schonwald, an accountancy firm (3116 Live Oak Street)

While bars were and are an important part of Dallas's history, other businesses and organizations also contributed to the LGBT community. Some of these include bookstores, community centers, hotels, and coffee shops, among others.

• Dallas Literary Shop is now CVS (4934 Maple Ave)
• Trio Coffee Shop is now CVS (3541 McKinney Ave)
• Lucas' B&B Restaurant is now Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (3520 Oak Lawn Ave)
• The Melrose Hotel is now the Warwick Melrose (3015 Oak Lawn Ave)

Today, Dallas is known as an LGBT hotspot in the South. The city is home to a thriving and vibrant scene, with bars, clubs, clinics, community organizations, archives, and even a weekly newspaper.

Bosse, Paula. https://www.centraltrack.com/hidden-in-plain-sight/

Ketchum, Alexandra. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2019.1665569

Houston LGBT History. http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/index.html

Bauer, David. https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1979/june/lords-of-an-underground-empire/

 Houston LGBT History  is an incredible resource for Texan LGBT history, mostly focused on Houston. Materials are collected by JD Doyle.

 The University of North Texas LGBTQ Archive  has many materials from DFW.

 The Dallas Way , a Dallas LGBT history organization, has oral histories and archives.

To learn about current happenings in North Texas, pick up a copy of the  Dallas Voice .

If you like podcasts, try  Making Gay History .

Allen, Samantha. Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States.

Espinoza, Alex. Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime.