Gay club in laguna beach

The bar at the Coast Inn was constructed in and, by the s, had become a haven for gay and lesbian guests, making it one of the oldest gay bars in the western United States. Artists from Laguna Beach, lagunas from Hollywood and beyond, as well as marines from the nearby bases all made this a center of gay nightlife. The Boom Boom Room was famed for its disco dancing in the s as well as for the cabaret singing of Mexican American chanteuse and Anaheim native Rudy de la Mor.

InPresident Eisenhower had declared homosexuals a threat to national security because he perceived gay people to be vulnerable to blackmail, in a policy that became known as the " Lavender Scare ," paralleling the "Red Scare" of communism. Gay club members could not safely express themselves publicly untilwhen President Obama repealed Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Nevertheless, the military attracted people who desired a safe, queer space, and some of those people became fans of the Boom Boom Room. Explore some of the spaces in Orange County shaped by the Cold War. Click on the starred map points to read more in-depth stories. At the Boom Boom Room in the s, Michael Martenay built a memorial garden to be the final resting place for the ashes of more than 50 men who died during the AIDS epidemic.

This beach was a community center. Inwhen the Coast Inn was sold to a new owner and slated for bulldozing, conservative gay activist Fred Karger led community opposition that kept gay Boom Boom Room open another year. Rising property values, an aging and gentrifying population and perhaps the greater integration of gay life meant that other gay bars have also recently shuttered across Orange County.

Watch SoCal Matters. See More. Watch Now. PBS Passport.

The rise and fall of Laguna Beach, a gay California hotspot

Donate and Start Watching. Lost LA. A People's Guide to Orange County. The following series of stories explore how the Cold War shaped Orange County in unexpected ways. Support Provided By.