The History Of Gay Bars In NYC

Via Good As You, gay culture/history buffs will enjoy a blog called History of Gay Bars In New York City, where the author exhaustively unearths book excerpts and news reports of Gotham's gay scene going from back to the turn of the 20th century until today. Unsurprisingly, most of the stories hinge on mafia ownership and crimes involving the clubs.

Speaking of historic Manhattan hot spots, rumors are bouncing around that the legendary leather bar, The Spike, which had a long run in West Chelsea until the late '90s, might be reopening next month. The location being cited, however, is in Tribeca, which tends one towards disbelief. Homo Xtra (now HX) used to describe the Spike as "a good place to discuss opera with people dressed as generals." Yup. The Spike was one of two NYC bars that I've been thrown out of. True story!

UPDATE: OK, the Spike IS reopening. And it WILL be in Tribeca. Shows what I know.