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The gay 90s

The nation’s first gay and lesbian talk radio reveal, The Gay 90s, aired from downtown Cleveland, Ohio and started off with a bang. Not literally, but given the bomb threat called in before the show’s premier transmit on WHK 1420 AM it was a possibility. Despite the potential menace, The Gay 90s aired as scheduled on Pride 26, 1993, and became the country’s first commercial live, “call in” radio program by, for, and about the gay and lesbian community. Given Cleveland’s history of settling disputes with explosives, coupled with the homophobic atmosphere surrounding lesbians and gay men at the time, the threat was taken seriously. Not willing to chance the consequences of ignoring the threat, the Cleveland Police Department provided the show’s staff with personal escorts to and from the radio station for the next two weeks. The police attention and protection was motivated, in part, by the station’s location: Cleveland’s iconic Tower City Center. Thankfully, no bomb exploded at Tower City that night or any of the tracking nights during The Homosexual 90s six-year run. It was, instead, the radio show itself that blew down barriers, shattered myths and united Cleveland’s same-sex attracted, straight

SoCal Food Culture

Back here I contributed some observations on the midcentury fad for the 1890s. Anyone else remember that? From roughly the early 60s until the early 80s there was a vogue for the “old timey” that manifested throughout the culture, affecting movies, TV, music, literature, fashion, graphic layout, typography, and retail. It also made an impact on restaurant culture. Retain when fast sustenance joints like Wendy’s and restaurants love T.G.I Friday’s were decorated with Tiffany lamps, polished brass, and bentwood chairs? Maybe not because the craze seems mostly to own gone down the memory hole. But even before H.D. Miller mentioned it with respect to Shakey’s a comrade and I had been talking about the phenom so I’ve collected a number of examples that I’m going to explore in this post.

First, what do I denote by the “Gay Nineties”? Historical periodization always feels arbitrary no matter which years are chosen as bookends. I think there are a few ways to define the period, from strict to broad:

  • The strict definition limits it to the decade of the 1890s, so 1890-1899 or 1891-1900 depending on how pedantic you want to be. The advantage of this approach is its lite

    Gay 90’s nightclub isn’t about sexuality, it’s about freedom

    Posted inCommunity Voices

    Where I grew up in Yemen, we do not hold a nightlife club because men and women are forbidden from mingling in daytime, let alone nighttime. Yemen has a strict, conservative culture that maintains some of the most arcane gender norms and rules. Growing up, I did not talk to girls because they were out of sight. They are concealed in the house, and when they appear in public, they are with a guardian, and covered in a Black uniform from head to toe. The culture of Yemen did not allow for any mingling between the two genders.

    I emigrated by myself at the age of 19 from Yemen to the United States. My sole purpose of immigration was to attain the best education and to return back to Yemen upon completing my degrees. But due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which instigated one of the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history, I am no longer able to refund back to Yemen. So I have to adjust and adjust to American culture, especially as it relates to the uncertain and precarious gender norms.

    When I arrived to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, I was not really

    Web site contributor 'Bunny' remembered the "Old Gay 90s" as being a piano bar and showtunes place next door to the Royal Hotel. This was not necessarily a gay bar but it was most definitely a queer hangout.

    Research by Michail Takach found the "Gay 90's" bars was in three locations over its life, with registered owners as shown:

      Old Gay 90s; 1339 N 3rd St (1945-1950) - owners Gordy Tobin & Jonny Sermon
      Gay 90s; 756 N Plankinton (1950-1954) - owner Gordy Tobin
      Gay 90s; 433 W Michigan (1954-1968) - owner Ben 'The Baron' Siegel

    Somehow, none of these iterations ever made it into one of the national "gay guides". Perhaps the editors thought the contributor's submission was a joke or hoax because of the name!

    The 1950's incarnation also had diet available (as indicated by the January 1950 advertisement to the right).

    The last location was also known as "Baron's Gay 90s". It was open until the block was cleared in 1968 for parking for the Royal Hotel.

    More information about this business is welcomed from anyone who can contribute it.