Gay 90’s: Minneapolis’ Most Influential Gay Bar

Archive Item #5: Interview with the owner of Gay 90’s (2014)

Sticking with the theme of important gay gathering/hangout spots, let’s shift focus to the Gay 90’s, Minneapolis’ oldest, and arguably most historically relevant gay bar. The item I’ve chosen to represent this element of the Minneapolis/St. Paul gay scene is an interview with Robert Parker, general manager of the club, and Michael Bloom, who owned the club from 1977-2008. The two men discuss the incredibly long history of the club, which has been open since the 1940’s, back when it was called Casablanca. Though the club experienced various cosmetic and name changes over the years, it was—and still is—a consistently safe space for gay men, and other queer individuals, to meet up (and often hook up) without fearing persecution from staff or patrons of the bar. Interestingly, the Gay 90’s was not always a gay club and was named in the 1960’s, when the term “gay” was not associated with queerness so much as happiness. Patrons from another gay bar in the area (Happy Hour) began to stop into the Gay 90’s because Happy Hour only had one bathroom. As the story goes, Happy Hour customers and patrons from the Gay 90’s began to hook up. The occurrence was so commonplace that the Gay 90’s club eventually lived up to its name, becoming an openly gay club. Shortly thereafter, the club name became synonymous with gay culture in the city. As the bar grew from a dinky room with one stage into a bustling queer haven, the gay civil liberties movement was gaining support and traction across the city and the nation.