Karlin, co-author of “Last Call Chicago: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts,” which documents that city’s gay bars, moved to Fort Lauderdale 10 years ago. ![]() Billy Manors line dances at Scandals Saloon in Wilton Manors. More recently, dating apps have reduced the need to go to a public place to find a partner. The AIDS crisis of the 1980s made some fearful of meeting a stranger in a bar, he said. He said there are additional reasons for the decline. There were more than 200 gay bars in South Florida in the 1970s and 1980s, he said, but it’s now down to about 100. The Stonewall riots in 1969, when New York City police arrested 13 people at a gay bar and a melee and fire ensued, brought the discrimination and fear gay people faced to national attention.Īs rights campaigns in the late 20th century prompted compassion for America’s LGBTQ+ community, gay men and women began to feel more comfortable in public spaces outside the bar scene, said Rick Karlin, a Fort Lauderdale resident who is writing a book on South Florida’s gay bars. (Rhonda Vanover/Contributor)īefore Prohibition and even through World War II, Smith said most gay bars were well-kept secrets, with fear of police raids a constant stress. ![]() This 2007 file photo shows Rosie’s Bar & Grill in Wilton Manors, where regulars are seen enjoying drinks before dinner.
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