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Nov 29
2008
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Gay History Day - Playing Tourist in the CastroPosted by Lavender Lounge in Untagged |
It was an historic weekend, not that history was made, but rather, gay history was all around me.
First of all, Thanksgiving Day, November 27, was the 30th anniversary of Harvey Milk getting shot in his office at City Hall. Some Sisters gathered for a silent vigil at 6:35pm in commemoration. I didn't go, but shortly thereafter at the dinner party I attended, I pulled out my 8mm projector and showed some vintage gay porn from the 70's to universal acclaim. Not a fitting tribute, but the 1970's were on our minds.
On the way home on Thanksgiving I stopped at another dinner party for dessert. I found out that the host had just recently purchased the Paradise Lounge at 11th and Folsom. The legendary live music club has been sitting vacant for a long time, so Terrance Alan and a couple investors snapped it up from the bank, no doubt for a song. However, Terrance had no idea that the bar he just purchased was once called "Febe's", a legendary gay leather bar that opened in 1966. Febe's was famous for the statue of Michaelangelo's "David" dressed in leather that greeted you at the entrance to the bar. Febe's was smack dab in the middle of Folsom's famous "Miracle Mile" of leather bars and bath houses South of Market. Hopefully, he'll do some homework on it and perhaps do a Febe's theme party or two.
On Friday, aka "Black Friday", I decided I needed some retail therapy, and chose the Castro as my destination. I had a gift certificate from last Christmas to All American Boy, and I heard they were going out of business. Other than the Twin Peaks bar and the Castro Theater, All American Boy is the only other business still remaining in the Castro under the same name and location from the 1970's. Back in the day, All American Boy was were you went to buy your "uniform" if you were one of those dreaded "Castro Clones". The tiny little store carried all the essentials - Levi's 501's, tight tank tops, plaid shirts, hiking boots, studded belts, jock straps, fleece jackets, and the all important hankies for your back pocket to announce your sexual preferences by the strict "hanky code". No matter what the trend of the day, All American Boy had slogan t-shirts appropriate for the times. Their own logo t-shirts were classic themselves. I tried to buy one of the last All American Boy t-shirts myself, but they only had size small left. I wore size small in the 70's, but that was a long time ago...
Following my bitterweet shopping trip to All American Boy, I stopped in the Gay Historical Society's storefront at the corner of Castro and 18th. On display is a collection of trinkets and ephemera from a variety of historical events and institutions throughout our little "experiment" in gay ghettoization. The highlights of the exhibit were the suit worn by Harvey Milk when he got shot, and one of Sylvester's sequined costumes. (I actually had the unique pleasure of wearing the same Sylvester costume on my TV show when we dedicated an episode to him!)
I finished up my historic visit to the Castro by having dinner at Harvey's, the bar at 18th and Castro once called Elephant Walk. It was re-named after Harvey Milk in the mid-1990's to be the Planet Hollywood of gay culture.
It was fun playing tourist in my own home town, but it struck me once again how important it is to preserve the memories of this monumental time in history. The businesses, events and institutions that we take for granted may seem like one big party, but they literally developed out of thin air by you and me when were kids barely out of our teens.
Though it may seem trivial in light of the Harvey Milk story or other political changes, but I am once again inspired to keep up my vintage gay porn collection. Over the past year or two, I have collected a couple hundred gay porn movies on 8mm and Super 8 that I am in the process of converting to video to stream in the VIP Room of Lavender Lounge.
Yes, the gay movement is about rights and equality and blah blah blah, but the root of what we have in common is gay sex. These gay porn movies were ground breaking in that they were totally underground, illegal to make and distribute, yet taught a generation how uninhibited sex between men was consummated. Â
Clips from my collection of vintage gay porn movies on 8mm will begin streaming in the VIP Room in a couple months, but you should sign up for a recurring membership NOW before the price goes up.
   





























































