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Monday, Oct 06, 2008
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Gay History - Seattle Gay friendly restaurants 1950-1970 |
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| Gay History - Seattle Gay friendly restaurants 1950-1970 | ||
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by Don Paulson -
SGN Contributing Writer Seattle had a number of Gay-friendly restaurants, from greasy spoons to epicurean delights. Gay money was gladly accepted by all restaurants - especially during the 1930s Depression - but the overt Gay lifestyle was taboo. You wore the mask. Other nice but catch-all places such as the Westener and Ben Paris saw a lot of cruising between the restaurant and the restroom, not to mention all the restaurants and sailor bars up and down Pike Street and 1st Avenue. Saunders Coffee Shop on the southwest corner of 4th and Pike was the epicenter for the cruise queens. It was the Gayest corner in Seattle for street cruising 24/7 for many years. Bill Parkin, bar owner and denizen of the 1950s and '60s, recalls; 'When you wanted to be seen or treat an out-of-town guest you took them to Vons at 1500 4th Ave. It was well known for 'everything possible being made on the premise,' like their bakery on the second floor. It was a very popular place for sport figures and celebrities - one stool at the counter was reserved for sports figure Jack Kearley. I sat down on it and the waitress asked me not to as he was expected to visit shortly. The bar was very London with dark paneling and along the wall were rows of photographs signed by movie stars. I saw Ray Milland, Thomas Mitchell, Uma Sumac and, in the next booth, Jerry Lewis, who acted goofy and carried on with his friends in a loud voice just like he did in his movies. When he summoned the waitress he shouted, 'Hey lady,' a line he was famous for.' A well-known local fire-and-brimstone preacher was a regular at Vons. One night after a service he sat in the booth next to me and bragged with his friends about sleazing the suckers in the name of God: 'Brother, didn't we have those suckers going tonight when I said I didn't want to hear the clink of silver, only the rustle of green!" Don Johnson remembers; "He ran off with his girlfriend and church money but came limping back in disgrace. The congregation took him back, of course. I was a grade school friend of his son. Someone gave me a few peacock feathers and my friend asked me to leave them with him so he could look at them. When I picked them up, one was missing, which was obviously the one he had displayed in his bedroom. He said someone gave it to him. In my youth I couldn't believe that a preacher's son could steal and then lie about it.' Bill Parkin continues, "One of the first Cocktail Bars in the city was the Captain's Room above the Woods Cafe. The bar was upstairs and managed by Gay-friendly Jim and Clementine, who turned it into a Gay bar. When the owner realized all the queers going in and out he freaked, fired Jim and Clementine, stood out in front and said to those who he thought was Gay, 'We don't want your kind in here.' The fool lost phenomenal bar receipts and eventually closed. Jim and Clementine then took over the Fox and Hounds at 122 Cherry. It was straight during the day but Gay at night. I held court at my 'Lollie Parkins table' under a Tiffany skylight. It closed in 1955 and went straight." The Dog House restaurant and bar - a 24/7 run of food, booze, piano bar music and fellowship - operated for 50 years by the same owner. It was famous for its colorful older waitresses, who put up beautifully with its sometimes rowdy drinking crowd. The hip Dog House lived up to it's motto, "All roads lead to the Dog House,' as it was truly the #1 crossroads of the late night party crowd, and an amazing blend of all types including Gays. Revelers grabbed a midnight snack before driving home still drunk. Bill Parkin remembers, "Even though these were the days when we were trained drinkers, the DWI Squad was out in force. I can name 30 Seattle bars that closed due to the Squad." The Dog House was also a target for teenage fag bashers. Don Johnson recalls when, in 1960, "Six of us Gays crowded into a booth exhausted from a night's drinking in the Gay bars and dancing at Madame Peabody's. Fag bashers would scope out the Queers and attack them later outside. A group of guys came over to our booth and began to challenge us. One guy grabbed Glenn by the shirt and said, 'Did you call my mother a motherfucker?!' Always one for a retort, David said, 'Don't be silly; he doesn't even know your mother!' Well, that fired them up and warned us they'd be waiting for us outside. We complained to the crabby cashier to call the police but she never did. Eventually it came time to leave. We had no desire to fight these bad boys. One of them brandished a tire iron ready to bash our skulls, but we managed to dash to our cars while they pounded on the hoods, calling us Queers and faggots and demanded we fight them, but we escaped, 'without ruining our makeup or breaking a heel,' as David quipped. Kenny, who wasn't wasting any time and in his tiny Nash Cosmopolitan, drove across the sidewalk, bounced off the curb between two parked cars and raced down the street." Clark's Round the Clock restaurant and bar was more clean-cut than the more rustic Dog House, but a very popular straight [and Gay] gathering for one and all, especially after the bars closed. Bill Parkin said, 'Sometimes we'd put tables together for 30 people, the repartee could get wild!' Don Johnson recalls, "These were not typical customers but certainly a rare event at Clarks: Two men walked in, a skinny one on a leash attached to his spiked collar with his eyes lowered to convey his obedience. The stern-faced, well-fed master, dressed in leather, led him to a booth. By 1975 this was no big deal but when the master tied the leash to the table leg like a good cowboy it was hysterically funny.' |
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