Today, a handful of bars downtown still offer a safe space for queer residents and visitors.Īs Austin's population reaches nearly 1 million, the city is in need of more housing and better transportation options, which often comes at the expense of longtime businesses. But its legacy remains as the first in a long line of bars serving Austin's LGBTQ+ community. So, after 12 years of operation, the club closed its doors.
“The Manhattan Club encouraged queer people to network with fellow queer Austinites, freely express their sexuality without immediate repercussions, and forge social and political alliances,” reads an entry in the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas.īefore Florence could negotiate new lease terms, the landowner gave up the space to the company next door.
Texas State Historical Commission The Manhattan Club, a small backroom in the Manhattan Restaurant on Congress Avenue, is the earliest documented gay bar in Austin.
