From at least the early 20th century in the U.S., LGBTQ+ people have been creating or appropriating spaces for them to meet, socialize, romance and organize community structures. Outside of private homes hosting parties, these first community spaces were typically bars, night clubs and social clubs.
In central Pennsylvania, the first LGBTQ+ spaces appeared perhaps as early as the late 1930’s, but more likely by the 1940’s or 1950’s. The Clock Bar which opened in 1938 in Harrisburg is believed to be the first LGBTQ+ bar in the region, although we cannot be sure at what point it became exclusively LGBTQ+.
Harrisburg being the state capital and an anchor to the region was an expected nexus of early LGBTQ+ spaces. But by the 1960’s, these spaces began to appear in other small cities of central Pennsylvania, such as Lancaster, York, and State College.
The 1970’s ushered in the disco era and larger spaces with dance floors became popular. Many of the larger night clubs rode that popularity through changes in dance music through the end of the century. About this time, some alternative LGBTQ+ spaces began to be created by organizations, but much of the focus of the community remained on bars and clubs.
In the 21st century, we have seen the gradual decline of bars and clubs as the main focus of LGBTQ+ communities and the rise of a wider variety of alternative LGBTQ+ spaces such as community centers, organizations, churches, and events. We have also seen the “mainstreaming” of LGBTQ+ people into straight or mixed bars and clubs. At the same time, we have also seen the increasing role of the internet as hosting “virtual” LGBTQ+ space.
In 2020 with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the further decline of bars and clubs as they struggle to survive amid closings and restrictions on hours and numbers of patrons. Will LGBTQ+ bars and clubs survive? Much of this story is yet to be written, but as LGBTQ+ bars and clubs have come and gone over many decades, their history is an essential piece of the story of the creation of LGBTQ+ community space in central Pennsylvania.
The establishment of LGBTQ+ bars through the 1970s.
The establishment of LGBTQ+ bars through the 1980s.
The establishment of LGBTQ+ bars through
the 1990s and 2000s
Just as timelines can show the development of LGBTQ+ bars in Central, PA, knowing the location of these bars is just as interesting. Second and Third Street in Harrisburg were a central location for many LGBTQ+ bars, as well as downtown Lancaster and York. Seeing where these bars were located can give us a better idea of how the community developed and moved within the straight bar scene.
Just as timelines can show the development of LGBTQ+ bars in Central, PA, knowing the location of these bars is just as interesting. Second and Third Street in Harrisburg were a central location for many LGBTQ+ bars, as well as downtown Lancaster and York. Seeing where these bars were located can give us a better idea of how the community developed and moved within the straight bar scene.
Just as timelines can show the development of LGBTQ+ bars in Central, PA, knowing the location of these bars is just as interesting. Second and Third Street in Harrisburg were a central location for many LGBTQ+ bars, as well as downtown Lancaster and York. Seeing where these bars were located can give us a better idea of how the community developed and moved within the straight bar scene.
These pages spotlight LGBTQ+ bars in Central, PA. These bars were important to the community by providing space for the community members to come together. For some bars, we do not have much information, if you have or know anyone who does, please contact the
LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org
Oral History Interview, Dan Maneval
The Clock Bar was opened in 1938 by George Dare. Once George Dare Sr. passed away, it was then run by his son Stuart and Stuart’s wife Maureen. The Clock Bar was the first known LGBTQ+ bar in Harrisburg, and the first iteration of LGBTQ+ bars at the 400 N 2nd Street building.
“It was called the clock bar because it had clocks on the wall set to different time zones around the world like Moscow, London and you know, that’s why it was called The Clock Bar.” – James Bortzfield Oral History
Bar etiquette at the time was dictated by the Liquor Laws that were in place. One law was the number of patrons in a bar had to match the number of seats in the bar.
“If you had a liquor license, you had to have a seat for every person in the bar, and if you only had 50 seats then you could only have 50 people because everybody had to have a place to sit down.” – Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History
So how would patrons meet each other without losing their seats? If a patron wanted to “talk” to someone, they would send a drink to their intended interest and if the receiver gave a positive response, the sender would go over to talk while the bartender saved the sender’s seat. Bartenders, and other patrons, would keep tabs and hold seats for others when they would get up to talk to one another.
What you did then was you went through the third-party bartender and sent him a drink…somebody would get up, that’s your seat. Bartender knew that. People around you knew that. You could get up and be over there and you would do something, and someone would come over and say ‘that’s Larry’s seat’” – Frank Pizzoli, 1960s Group Oral History
Unfortunately, the Clock Bar was raided in 1965 which led to the closure of this iteration.
Image: Earliest photo of The Clock Bar, circa 1940. George Dare, second from the left. Courtesy of Sabrina Dare Bledsoe.
Oral History Interview, Gorge Centini & Gary Hufford
Harrisburg Patriot News headline October 27, 1965. Courtesy of Dauphin County Historical Society.
In July of 1965, County District Attorney LeRoy S. Zimmerman began a monthlong investigation into the State Street area and the Clock Bar to take legal action against the LGBTQ+ community for their “immoral and perverted” lifestyle. This investigation led to a series of raids and arrests, with a total of twenty-six LGBTQ+ community members being arrested. Names, ages, and addresses were made public, and charges ended in either fines and probation or jail time.
The raids came to a head on October 27 when the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board revoked the liquor license of the Clock Bar under the charges of “maintaining a disorderly house and permitting the solicitations of patrons for immoral purposes.” The revocation led to the closure of the Clock Bar, and severely impacted the LGBTQ+ community of Harrisburg by limiting the number of spaces for socializing.
However, these raids did not stop the LGBTQ+ community from creating the spaces that they desired and needed.
Harrisburg Patriot News headline July 3, 1965. Courtesy of Dauphin County Historical Society.
After the devastating raids and closure of the Clock Bar, Stuart and his brother, George Jr., decided to re-opened the location in 1966 under a new name, The 400 Club.
"…it was plain and all done in red and black and over the bar, it had a long bar, there were Tiffany shades hanging down [over the lights]…” – Bob Kegris, 1960s Group Oral History
When The 400 Club closed in 1974, the location came under new management, Al Apple and Chuck Clement.
"The Apple and the Frenchmen was a pair of lovers and the apple and the Frenchman described the two lovers, the couple, and they did offer a light menu fare or whatever at the bar, which had never been done before.” – Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History
In 1975, only one year later, The Apple and the Frenchman closed, and the location came back under to the Dare Family. This time, the new bar was named The Dandelion Tree.
In 1978, the location was sold again, this time to John Koch, who then opened the final iteration at this location, La Rose Rouge.
La Rose Rouge was one of the only two LGBTQ+ bars in Harrisburg at the time, the other being The Neptune Lounge, and stayed open until 1990 when the location stopped being a LGBTQ+ bar. As of 2020, the building is the location of the restaurant Burger Yum.
Photo of the Dandelion Tree by John Koch. Reprinted with permission of Dr. Eric Selvey, editor, Crossroads Magazine.
Image of Johnny Kobler’s Bar, circa 1950s. Courtesy of Larry Wilson.
Opened in 1937 by Johnny Kobler. The bar catered to a straight clientele in the 1940’s to mid-50’s, until Kobler passed away in 1953 and his attorneys for the estate took over. In 1957 the bar became “mixed” and catered to both LGBTQ+ and straight clientele.
“…so, the gays started going in there and it remained straight in the front of the bar and the gays were in the back of the bar, but they got along fine, nobody fought or anything and then real late at night the straights would go home, and the gays then would be left there, and it would be just them.” – Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History
In 1961, Johnny Kobler’s estate sold the bar, and it officially closed as a LGBTQ+ bar location.
Johnny Kobler’s Matchbook, circa 1950s. Courtesy of LGBT-014, DCA.
Opened in the 1960’s and owned by Stuart Dare.
LGBTQ+ community started to frequent the bar in the Warner Hotel around the 1960’s.
“…it had a big bar there on the first floor and it…but it was frequented by gays, but it was a very mixed crowd, but it was never a gay bar. It was just frequented by gays because they had a gay bartender behind the bar and they and you had an accepting place that didn’t throw the gays out.” – Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History
During the “raids” in the early 1970’s, the Warner Hotel Bar became less popular and unsafe for the LGBTQ+ community to patronize.
Like the Warner Hotel bar, the Plaza Hotel Bar was frequented by the LGBTQ+ community in the late 1960’s through 1976. However, the bar itself was not the main draw, the “cruisey men’s room” in the basement was.
“The Plaza Hotel was less known about the bar itself and more know about the bathroom downstairs…because if you walked into the bar there was maybe one or two people sitting at the bar, but there were 20 downstairs in the bathroom…” - Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History
The bar officially closed when the hotel caught on fire in February 1976 and was later demolished.
Warner Hotel, circa 1960s Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
The Neptune Lounge operated as a straight bar until 1972 when James Bortzfield bought it from Bob Maley, at which time James re-opened the bar as a LGBTQ+ bar location.
The Neptune Lounge was known for its many events, especially performances by Lily White & Company. All events were usually themed, and you had to buy a ticket to attend:
”We had—we never had a Christmas party at that bar. All the other bars were open on Christmas, but I was always against that…But we had themed parties, of course. Military parties as you have seen in the pictures. Halloween parties and New Years—we were the only bar that didn’t have an open-door policy. You had to buy a ticket to get in, ahead of time. We only sold a hundred tickets and that’s it. It was open bar, so you didn’t have to bring any money and it was only 10 bucks.” – James Bortzfield Oral History
Bortzfield eventually expanded The Neptune Lounge into the adjoining buildings, which included buying the old Capital Grill. He later sold both businesses to Frank Idaccola and his partner Steven, who then re-named the restaurant portion The Paper Moon.
Bucky and Tom outside of the Neptune Bar, circa 1975. Courtesy of LGBT-017, DCA.
Neptune Matchbook, circa 1970s. Courtesy of LGBT-006, DCA.
Opened in 1979 by Al Kochek, The Strawberry Inn was the first LGBTQ+ hotel in the area. The first floor held a bar that was frequented by the LGBTQ+ community, and then there were 12 hotel rooms in the upper floors. It was one of the four small LGBTQ+ bars in Harrisburg at the time.
“…and Al Kochek now was running the Strawberry Inn down in the square, which was gay on the weekends and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Sadly, The Strawberry Inn closed after a tragic fire on January 23, 1984. The fire destroyed the building, a known gay bartender who lived in one of the rooms upstairs was killed as well, and the Gay Switchboard of Harrisburg, which used one of the rooms for its office at the time, lost all their equipment and records housed there.
Picture of Strawberry Inn fire, January 23, 1984. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
So far, we have limited information on these LGBTQ+ bars in Harrisburg. If you have any archival materials or memories of these bars, please contact the LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org.
Image: Club 1031 Matchbook, circa 1975. Courtesy of LGBT-006. DCA.
Class One opened in 1979 by Ron Boudreau in Harrisburg. It was themed like a New York Style Disco, and mainly a straight bar. It was not until around 1980 when Boudreau decided to host a “gay night” that the LGBTQ+ community started to patronize the bar.
It also led to Larry Wilson realizing that bigger bars were needed, and wanted, within the LGBTQ+ community in Harrisburg:
“So, they offer gay night on a Monday night. Well, you know, who goes out to a gay bar on a Monday night, it’s the slowest night of the week… Not a good night. It’s a work week, you have to work the next day, you know, who can come out on a Monday night? It’s crazy. But they started this gay night on Monday nights and within a couple of weeks, they had a crowd in there on Monday night that equaled a crowd in there on Saturday night… to me that was a wake-up experience in that the people of Harrisburg, the gay people of Harrisburg, are crying for something like this…” – Larry Wilson Oral History
CONTACT US:
P.O. Box 5629, Harrisburg, PA 17110
history@centralpalgbtcenter.org
(717) 409-5781
Copyright © 2023 Central PA LGBT History - All Rights Reserved.
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