Silhouette/D-Gem
In 1975, The Silhouette, the first Lesbian bar in Harrisburg, opened on N. Front Street, outside of Harrisburg City Proper. A year later, it was sold and bought by Dottie Hale and partner who changed the name to D-Gem.
The D-Gem was always packed, and reservation of tables were highly recommended. There was also a dance floor where everybody danced:
“Always packed. The place was always, always packed. And you had these little tables which you had to reserve… You had a nice dance floor, everybody’s dancing and having a good time – boys and girls.” – Nikki Knerr Oral History
D-Gem add in Lavender Letter May 1992. Courtesy of LGBT-022, DCA.
Oral History interview Nikki Knerr
It was also the only LGBTQ+ bar at the time where the community mixed.
”And the owners were two women, and they had a lot of male friends, so their male friends would come and take up half the position of the bar. But then they started intermingling with each other and we started becoming friends with them, they became friends with us… Yeah, they really did a good job of bringing us all together…Yeah, they had – we all felt like this was our home, you know. It was the only place in town too, at the time. I mean for the mix.” – Nikki Knerr Oral History
The D-Gem closed in the 1990’s. The building is now a restaurant and bar called Boro.
Shadows
Shadows Bar sign, circa 1980s. Courtesy of LGBT-010, DCA.
Opened in 1980 at 704 N. 3rd Street in downtown Harrisburg, Larry Wilson opened Shadows in response to the desire and need of the LGBTQ+ community in Harrisburg to have more full-time gay bars.
“When I bought it, I called it Shadows because, in keeping with this, you know, philosophy of gay bars being dark, you know, I wanted, you know, this is—when you go in there you see your shadows in the distance. But what I told the general population of the community, shadows meant that this bar sat in the shadows of the capital.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Shadows provided another space for the LGBTQ+ community to congregate up until 1984, when Wilson closed the bar to focus on his new, larger bar space: The Archives.
Shadows Matchbook, circa 1980. Courtesy of LGBT-023, DCA.
The Archives
In 1983, wanting to create larger space for the LGBTQ+ community to enjoy, particularly a dancing space, Larry Wilson bought the building at 714 N. 3rd Street and named it The Archives.
“So, I opened the—what I called The Archives in 1983. Which was a dance club on the weekends, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights…” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Located right across the street from the William Penn State Museum and Archives, Wilson wanted to create a space that represented Harrisburg through pictures and décor that mirrored the State Archives:
“The Archives, we wanted to do it as kind of merely what was in our neighborhood… we put fake file cabinets in the walls that looked like, you know, an archive…We went to the State Archives, we told them what we wanted to do, they worked with us in getting pictures of Harrisburg …large photographs of Harrisburg going back to the 1800s…and that’s [the] theme [that] carried through the entire time that we were in business.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Wilson had larger ideas than just a LGBTQ+ dance club, he wanted The Archives to be a space that could offer opportunities for the straight community as well.
“…during the week I wanted this club to be more than just a gay dance club….I wanted a mainstream gay bar that straight people went to….So how do you get them in the door? Well. you offer it as a restaurant during the week.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
This idea led Wilson into a partnership with Ed Meals, the owner of The Box Office Restaurant. Meals ran the restaurant side of the business while Wilson ran the club side.
With both LGBTQ+ and straight clientele, Wilson went one step further and made The Archives a more inclusive LGBTQ+ space:
“And there were some other changes that I felt needed to be made within the gay community that were on my mind from the day I came out, and it bothered me. We were a gay bar community downtown of white males, period… So when I opened The Archives, I eliminated the rules about who could come in. You know, I let everybody in.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
The Archives and Box Office Restaurant was the spot to go until Stallions opened next door in 1986, which eventually lead to the closure of The Archives and Box Office Restaurant in 1988.
Archives napkins, circa 1980. Courtesy of LGBT-010, DCA.
Archives dining room, circa 1985. Courtesy of the Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Archives Bar, circa 1985. Courtesy of the Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1980s
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.
Stallions
Opened in 1986 by Ollie Rosenberg, Stallions embraced the same philosophy as The Archives. It was bar that became more inclusive of all members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“It wasn’t until Stallions opened and they adopted kind of the same philosophy that it became more universal. And they actually even started having drag shows.” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Eventually the 3rd floor of Stallions opened, which attracted more of the LGBTQ+ community. Stallions is still open at 706 N. 3rd Street in Harrisburg today.
Image: Stallions Matchbook, circa 1990. Courtesy of LGBT-023, DCA.
La Cage
- 1980-1982
- Opened by Amel French
Pegasus
- 1980-1983
- Re-name of La Cage
- Owned by Dennis Hill
The Strawberry
- Opened 1985
- Closed 2009
The Pink Lizard ad from Lavender Letter August 1999. Courtesy of LGBT-009, DCA
B-tles ad from Lavender Letter January 1991. Courtesy of LGBT-009, DCA
Exterior of Tally Ho Tavern in Lancaster, PA. Photo courtesy of Barry Loveland, 2018.
Interior of Tally Ho Tavern, from web not credited.
Talley-Ho Tavern add from Gay Era June 1976. Courtesy of LGBT-001, DCA.
The Loft Restaurant
The Talley-Ho is also where Centini and his partner Gary Hufford first met, and after starting a relationship, they came together on another project: The Loft Restaurant.
“…Gary started coming into the Tally-Ho. And I was on the door and got to know him. We got to know each other…Gary and I hooked up…and with Gary being in the restaurant business with the experience he had he said, “well let’s—let’s open up a restaurant upstairs.” – George Centini, Gary Hufford and George Centini Oral History.
Centini and Hufford decided to remodel the “rooming house” upstairs and open it as a restaurant. In 1971 renovations started, and in 1972 The Loft Restaurant officially opened. There was some judgement from other fine dining restaurants in Lancaster that The Loft would not do well because of the owners being “gay,” but they were soon proven wrong.
“…within two months we had ‘em all in town, even at the Loft because we had good food and good service.” – George Centini, Gary Hufford and George Centini Oral History
The restaurant catered to all crowds and received high reviews. Centini also notes that the straight crowd from the restaurant tended to move downstairs to the Tally Ho bar for dancing.
“But all of that from the time we opened the Loft we did get a certain amount of straight people that ate at the Loft, a lot of times would go downstairs after dinner because… because had great music… There was never no trouble y’know, so we had a pretty good mix then of people.” – George Centini, Gary Hufford and George Centini Oral History
Even with the success of the bar and restaurant, Centini and Hufford sold to new management in the early 1980’s. Recently, the bar and restaurant have been sold again and are no longer running as LGBTQ+ establishments.
The Loft Restaurant Exterior, from: http://www.theloftlancaster.com/locations.
Railroad House Bar
Located on Front and Perry Street in Marietta, PA, the Railroad House building was bought by the then partner of Davide Leas, Marlon, and together they opened it in September of 1976.
“And he just loved the building. It was all about the building. And then the business came about later, as a way of how to get this building to pay for itself.” – David Leas Oral History
First opened as a coffee shop and restaurant, the bar part of the establishment did not start to draw patrons until 1979/1980. Once started, the bar was in the basement, the restaurant was on the first floor, and hotel rooms were on the second and third floors.
“And, we struggled with the bar, I mean, we had the restaurant there, but the bar was a real struggle with the beginning and that—it just happened.” - David Leas Oral History
Located a short drive away from Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster, the Railroad House Bar became the place to be for the LGBTQ+ community, especially in the small town of Marietta. It was known for its stainless-steel dance floor and for getting quite hot during the summer months.
“It was hot in the summertime because their air-conditioning was so inadequate…you’re on the underbelly of the building, so, all the pipes are sweating and dripping and everyone complained how hot it was and how crowded it was, but all that did was encourage the young guys to take their shirts off, which only encouraged people to complain how hot it was, but they wouldn’t leave, you know what I mean…”– David Leas Oral History
Leas left the business in 1985, but the Railroad House is still running as a restaurant and hotel under new management today.
The Fiddler
Located on Prince Street in Lancaster, PA, The Fiddler was owned by Joe Cardin and was first mentioned in the Gay Era newspaper in October 1976. It was renovated in 1978 and became the first gay disco in the area. The Fiddler served a mixed crowd, but mostly catered towards the LGBTQ+ community in Lancaster and was known for the drag shows that it would host.
“…there was a gay man at that time involved in the Fiddler that there was a gay man involved in some of the management at the Fiddler that’s when they start getting involved with havin’ some of gay clientele there also…” – George Centini, Gary Hufford and George Centini Oral History
“The Fiddler was a little different, you know what I mean, they always had drag shows…” – David Leas Oral History
The Fiddler was also known to be in competition with the Tally-Ho Tavern, specifically on which was the better dance spot.
“The Fiddler… went in contention with some of the old Tally Ho fans, with this new, there was going to be this competition. For they were a block away from each other. And of course people went back and forth between the two…” – David Leas Oral History
The Fiddler re-opening ad, Gay Era March 1978. Courtesy of LGBT-001, DCA
The Fiddler ad, Gay Era February 1977. Courtesy of LGBT-001, DCA.
Sundown Lounge
Exterior of Sundown Lounge, Lancaster, PA. Photo courtesy of Barry Loveland, 2018.
So far, we have limited information on this LGBTQ+ bar in Lancaster. If you have any archival materials or memories of this bar, please contact the LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org.
Located in downtown Lancaster and opening in 1976, The Sundown Lounge was the region’s second lesbian bar.
“The Sundown…was the infamous lesbian bar of Lancaster.”
– Jude Sharp Oral History
Exterior of Sundown Lounge, Lancaster, PA. Photo courtesy of Barry Loveland, 2018.
Town Tavern
So far, we have limited information on this LGBTQ+ bar in York. If you have any archival materials or memories of this bar, please contact the LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org.
Located on George Street in York, Pa, The Town Tavern was a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to congregate. The owners of the Town Tavern were not a part of the LGBTQ+ community, but they were happy to serve paying customers no matter their identity.
“…as long as your money was green, they didn’t care who you loved- and they wouldn’t tolerate anyone else giving you a hard time about it either.” – Charles Kress (courtesy of the York County History Center)
Town Tavern add, Gay Era March 1976. Courtesy of LGBT-001, DCA.
14 Karat Room
So far, we have limited information on this LGBTQ+ bar in York. If you have any archival materials or memories of this bar, please contact the LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org.
Opened in 1985, the 14 Karat Room was the third LGBTQ+ bar to open in York County, and the second to operate within the York City limits.
In more recent years, two other LGBTQ+ bars opened and closed in York, the Velvet Rope and Club XS. Now there are no LGBTQ+ bars operating in York.
Outside of 14 Karat Room, circa 2017. Courtesy of AJ Schenck, York County History Center.