His death began the demise of the institution. He was later killed in an auto crash near Sebring, FL. It had been a restaurant - "attached" via dumbwaiter to a straight restaurant, 10 Beach Drive, next door.ĭavid Wood, a large and jolly person was a very popular pianist at The Sherwood. The decor was campy Sherwood Forest murals and heavy velvet drapery. The bar clientele was mostly upscale, well-behaved and nicely dressed. It was owned by two successive straight couples, Mary and Joe. Petersburg on Beach Drive, across the street from the St. A reader who remembers The Sherwood fondly writes: This was once Tampa's premier Drag Queen Club which featured an outdoor swimming pool. Womyn now go to The Hideaway and Sportspage Pub. Check out Keith's in the same neighborhood. It changed hands and names to Village Station in the Eighties. This was my first gay bar - and it was for a lot of people.
Check out Sahara, Cherokee Club, The Hideaway, or The Sportspage Pub. Georgie's Alibi, who gutted, disinfected, and remodeled the building is now in it's place. Pete on 31st Street behind the post office. Currently, the closest thing Tampa has conceptually is Tropics. In Tampa on Moody (first) then combined with Baxter's on S. This place wasn't around very long and I'm not quite sure what happened to it. In its place now is The Hideaway (formerly Hank's Hideaway).
#GAY BAR TAMPA FLORIDA PRO#
The closest thing to Mangos in existence is The Pro Shop. Although there is currently nothing like it, check out The Backroom Bar in Madeira Beach. This was one of the best beach bars ever. I really miss that intimacy and friendliness!" A warm and friendly place that really contributed to a positive coming out for me. I ended up working in the outside bar on weekends there '71-72. My first gay bar and real "coming out" right after college. Small, intimate club with small light-up dance floor, A place where everybody knew everybody else " had an outside bar open during the days in the summer and on the weekends all year round. The Hurricane (well-known by straight tourists) currently stands in it's place. Later, it became the Tampa Eagle, and then Rain. The bar and the infamous play house behind the bar were bull-dozed and removed. A bear watering hole, the Arrow was a fun place to hang out, play pool, play darts and meet men. Was a regular hangout for the over 30 crowd with significant bias towards leather. To some, it was around longer than it should have been! It tried too hard to be everything, but not hard enough to be anything. There is currently nothing like it in Clearwater. Flamingo was a nice little bar and restaurant. Pete currently has one club on Central Ave.
We are dating ourselves now! Downtown St. Dallape's is now 1470 West with new owners and a new look. Later, it became The Jungle, complete with a big tree behind the bar. The Cove changed owners and was then The Wet Spot. It turned into The Saint, then Bender's and it's now called Club DeNile. The Copa was well known for it's Sunday T Dance. The Copa was where Chaps (by the dog track) was. Pete currently has one club called Grand Central. The Carousel was a sleazy stripper/cruise bar (the best kind).Ĭhaps was a Country Western bar originally in Pinellas Park on 49th Street (I think it used to be a straight club called 49th Street Mining Company) then moved to Gandy Blvd by the dog track. Today, Grand Central Station is in the same general neighborhood. Bridge Club was the only after hours bottle club in the area. If you are over on the beach, check out The Backroom Bar. Bedrox was one of a kind - the only Bar and restaurant in Tampa Bay right on the beach. Backstreet Mall once, Brothers is no longer. If you liked The Annex, you will like Metropolis. If you are looking for a place to party in Tampa Bay and you know you have been there before but you don't see it listed on the main Bars and Clubs page, chances are it will be listed here in the Bar Grave Yard. This page is dedicated to all the Bars and Nightclubs that are no longer with us.