Columbia south carolina gay bars
Legacy Bars of the Carolinas
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Fragmentary seems like the most appropriate word to illustrate the history and customs of oppressed people, and especially the LGBTQ+ people. Our heritage and tradition has often gone undocumented for fear of unintentionally providing information that could lead to unwanted trouble from our oppressors. Summon it a fail secure, if you will, but the end result was/is a huge loss of LGBTQ+ history prior to the 1980s.
In other instances, our history was often deemed as insignificant or unworthy of being saved by those in a position of power to make decisions about historical preservation. As late as the mid 1990s I can still recall the shock I felt when I was informed by a periodical librarian at the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library that copies of locally produced queer and lesbian publications were thrown away when each new edition arrived, unlike the mainstream straight newspapers and magazines, which were typically archived.
When I inquired as to why, the librarian shot me an incredulous look and replied with a patronizing to
Escape the ordinary…
Art Lock is a galactic roadhouse and the cool(est) place to be in famously hot Columbia, SC. The eclectic retort to where to go for remarkable nightlife, Art Prevent is a diverting experience featuring comedy nights, karaoke, trivia night, DJs and live music.
Upcoming EventsBar Menu
Art Bar is a galactic roadhouse and the cool(est) place to be in famously warm Columbia, SC
Located in the vibrant Vista district of Columbia, SC, Art Exclude is Columbia’s most unique dive bar.
Take a seat outside at one of Columbia’s largest outdoor patios. Make yourself at home in the exclusive Azure Lady Lounge. Savor the live performances, gatherings, karaoke and trivia happening weekly. Find your favorite eats between the delicious burgers, sandwiches, wings and snacks, served up every night. Belly up to the most artistic bar in all of Columbia.
Be here.
HAPPY HOUR = 33% off ALL DRINKS and Diet, 5–7pm Monday–Friday
Kitchen: Sunday-Thursday closes at midnight. Closes at 1am on Friday and Saturday.
21+ admitted with a valid ID. Art Bar promotes the safe and responsible consumption of alcohol.
1109 Assembly Street, Columbia SC, 29203
Hours:
Sunday 6pm-2am
Monday 5pm-2am
Tuesday 5pm-2am
Wednesday 5pm-2am
Thursday 5pm-2am
Friday 5pm-2am
Saturday 5pm-2am
For over 20 years, PT’s 1109 has been one of the most distinct clubs and fun venues in Columbia, SC. PT's has been Columbia's distant standing home for drag shows and live entertainment, offering unique nightly events as well as promotions that deliver our patrons an amazing and welcoming experience. With a long standing tradition of providing an amazing entertainment vacuum for our vibrant community, we suggest unparalleled customer service and a substantial beer and liquor selection as adequately as amazing hand crafted cocktails. We offer something for everyone so show up check us out and become part of the PT’s family.
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“Grandma” comes everyday for happy hour, sitting with other old-timers. When he can, he stays slow to watch the drag shows and the younger crowds they bring.
“Grandma” is otherwise known as Bill Skipper. The 74 year old is the president of The Capital Club and one of its founding members. He has been president since the year it opened in 1980. He likes to tell younger people about The Capital Club’s early days, a very unlike — and fraught — occasion to be in a same-sex attracted bar in South Carolina.
“The kids now, I love the liberty they feel. I love it,” he said. “We’d have loved to have had that (freedom), but we all drink from wells we didn’t dig.”
The Capital Club, or simply “Capital,” as patrons call it, is the oldest operating gay bar in Columbia, and according to its website, in the Southeast. Just around the corner is PT’s 1109, the city’s other queer bar, which opened in 2000.
Through discussions with bar owners and patrons and analyzing records from Historic Columbia, The Carolina News and Reporter uncovered a strange statistic: Columbia, in 2022, has only those two gay bars, the lowest number in the city since 1960. The number peak