Best older gay bar in orange county
In California’s conservative Orange County, a vibrant Queer group thrives.
Palm trees. Golden Coast. The anchor of the Blue Wall of the West. Southern California has one of the most iconic reputations in the travel industry and is widely considered a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ travelers. But then there’s Orange County, a.k.a. the place President Ronald Reagan said, “Good Republicans go to die.” It’s a ground of Trump luncheons, decades of John Birch Community influence, and the Orange Curtain–a Cold War nickname for the border between L.A. County and Orange County. To quote the fictional Luke Ward of Newport Beach, “Welcome to The O.C., bitch!”
It’s not all communist conspiracy theories and alt-right evangelicals. This is the county of America’s first major theme park, Knott’s Berry Farm, and America’s most renowned theme park, Disneyland. And in 2016, Orange County voted for Hillary Clinton–the first time the county had voted blue in nearly a century. Then, in 2018, all county congressional seats were flipped by Democrats. However, some of those seats are now back to red, and at most of the state/county/city level, The O.C. is still burning red. As Gustavo Arellano wrote for
It was bingo night at Main Street Bar & Cabaret, Laguna Beach’s last gay club. Techno harmony chugged; strobe lights blinked. The game’s caller – a redhead drag queen named Endora – fussed softly over the prizes, like an ikebana master arranging her flowers. But half an hour past the scheduled start hour, patrons had yet to arrive. Endora sat at the bar and ordered a cocktail.
In walked Craig Cooley, the bar manager for more than a year. “Where is everybody?” he asked, collapsing on a stool next to Endora. As usual, he seemed out of breath. Little wonder.
Gay bars around the nation have been disappearing, a trend attributed to greater social acceptance of gays, changing economic forces and evolving technology. Laguna Beach, in particular, has had many obituaries written for its once-thriving gay scene. Iconic establishments closed. Skyrocketing real estate prices have kept adolescent gays out of the city and led a number of established same-sex attracted residents to cash out and move to other cities, such as Palm Springs.
Against such odds, Cooley has made it his mission to revive this tiny dive bar off Coast Highway. He removed the privacy blinds on the windows. Pulled up the carpet coated i
A while back, we received instructions from the suits to put together a set of lists of the ten best in
several categories. As Gustavo explained, this is meant to build our
already incredible Best Of applications even more awesome…er.
One of the
categories was gay bars, and we all stood around scratching our heads.
Queer bars? All six of us are in long-term relationships of the “opposite”
sort. Absent any actual experience of gay bars in Orange County, we
consulted the experts–blowing our entire 2012 budget on homosexual bar research in the process–and today we're proud to welcome Greg Barnes of Laguna Niguel as a
guest writer. Greg, grab it away!
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2011 has been a year all about the percents. Whether you're the 99% or the 1%, you're probably sick of hearing about it when you turn on the TV or your computer. One percentage group not yet well represented on this blog, however, is the “10%.”–that is, gay people. This changes today, as I offer you my highest 10 gay bars of OC and Long Beach. Queer bars down here in the LBC and OC are quite a bit friendlier and more welcoming than their counterparts up in LA, whether you're
LGBTQ Nightlife Guide
There was a time when Laguna Beach had its staple lgbtq+ bars, which were a much needed presence during their reign of the beach city, and its very possible that in the future, more will make their way advocate to Laguna Beach, but until then, the capital is filled with options galore.
The Seahorse
In 1926, a liquor store and a hardware store opened on the corner of Pearl Street and Pacific Coast Highway, and in 1946 it became its current namesake The Seahorse, which was actually Laguna Beach’s first gay bar. For many years, it operated as a secret watering hole for the local homosexual community until it was eventually turned back to retail as Laguna Auto Parts…and now it’s help to its original roots. The bar celebrates diversity and inclusion and is a bar for everyone, with a really extraordinary history for the LGBTQ community. It’s a excellent place to start the evening with happy hour or even daytime drinks.
Rooftops Made For Sunsets
Surf & Sand Resort in South Laguna has two option; Splashes Bar and 15FiftyFive to enjoy the sunsets with the latter having couches and comfy chairs around a massive fireplace, to lounge in. Splashes hangs right over the sand an