Gay bars austin 4th street
As Pride Month starts, demolition for Austin LGBTQ bars crawls closer on Fourth Street
Members of Austin's LGBTQ people rang in Pride Month with choked-back tears and prolonged uncertainty at Metropolis Hall.
The Historic Landmark Commission on Wednesday night indefinitely postponed a decision about the historic status of the sites housing three queer-centric nightclubs in the Warehouse District. A proposed demolition project at West Fourth and Colorado streets would displace those bars to make room for a mixed-use tower to be developed by Houston-based Hanover Co.
But the vote still appeared a likely harbinger of radical changes over the coming years to the city's longtime center of LGBTQ life.
The parcels in question are house to Coconut Club, Neon Grotto and Oilcan Harry’s, which is the oldest operating LGBTQ bar in town. The properties date back almost a century and have had varied uses, from auto garages to restaurants to previous queer nightclubs.
More: This is America: The duality of Pride MonthHanover plans to reconstruct the ground-level façade underneath the propo
Hurry, the party’s gotta end…sometime. Really. With Fourth Street entity bulldozed to generate way for luxury apartments, the LGBTQIA+ community has been in limbo in recent years as to when the last hurrah will be. Clearly, the gang’s been living each festivity fond it’s their last, if those heaving downtown parties are anything to leave by. Mainstays enjoy Oilcan Harry’s, Rain on 4th, and the Coconut Club, are spilling in glitter, boys, and eyelashes like never before, and you know these queens will keep going till the cranes come in. (The bars keep having ‘farewell parties’, but they’re like Cher tours and they keep coming back.)
The good news is that relocation is in the works, so they needn’t head to the breweries yet (phew). Let’s worry about Google Maps later. Austin’s still dancing, and you’ll spot a small but mighty selection of gay bars to quench whatever y’all are thirsting for. Perhaps it’s flamboyant brunch with a heavy helping of Texan sausage, pop diva dancefloor showdowns a la Gaga and Grande, o
Explore One of Austin's Walkable LGBTQ-Friendly Neighborhoods
We like to say that the whole city of Austin feels like a gayborhood, but if you're looking for a walkable neighborhood with the largest number of LGBTQ+ nightclubs, patio bars and basement lounges then Downtown Austin's Warehouse District is the place to go. There&#x;s something happening all day and all night in this city center.
DuMont's Down Low. Credit Mario Andrade Photography.
Fourth Street
Coconut Club
This tropical-themed bar is also known as one of the dance parties in town. The rooftop nightclub hosts local DJs six nights a week and tunes range from disco funk to Afro to electric and everything in between.
Cuatro Gato
Sister bar to Coconut Club, Cuatro Gato serves up Latin sounds along with a bevvy of beer, mezcal, wine and cocktails from South of the border. "Coffee shop by day, perreo by night," hold an eye on their Instagram for themed nights, drag shows and other special events.
Dumont's Down Low
For a calmer scene, check out DuMont&ap
It may be too late to save Fourth Street from development despite outcry from LGBTQ+ collective
Austin’s earliest documented male lover bar came onto the scene in At the time, fewer than , people lived in the city, which was experiencing a prosperous economic and technological moment coming out of the Great Depression.
Over on Congress Way, the Paramount Theatre had just placed the celebrated marquee over its canopy, and a little delicatessen down the street opened up called The Manhattan Restaurant.
The restaurant was owned by David and Florence Robbins, a Jewish couple who moved from Recent York City to Austin after World War II. They deemed their place, “Austin’s only modern delicatessen restaurant.”
In the backroom of the restaurant, there was a small lock known to the city's LGBTQ+ community as The Manhattan Club. The cosmos, which held about 18 people, was one of the only public places where queer individuals could gather and socialize outside their homes.
Texas Express Historical Commission
“The Manhattan Club encouraged queer people to network with fellow lgbtq+ Austinites