Trinity College

Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, Trinity College

Trinity College

Location: Burlington, Vermont, USA

Founded: September 1925

Closed: September 2000

From the Trinity College of Vermont Association of Alumni and Friends website:

In September of 1925, equipped with unshakable determination and inexhaustible energy but little else, the Sisters of Mercy opened what was then the second Catholic college for women in New England. Twenty young woman settled into a room in Burlington's Mount St. Mary's Academy on Mansfield Avenue to begin a rigorous academic regimen of Latin, Greek, Religion, English, French and Mathematics.

Trinity College yearbook (1964)

By the 1990's, 140 young woman and adult students of diverse backgrounds studied in undergraduate and graduate programs offered on-campus and in field sites in six states and Monterrey, Mexico. They studied abroad, served in challenging internships, worked in innovative community service programs and lived on- and off-campus with other students from as far away as Korea and Japan.

On July 7, 2000, it was announced that Trinity College would be closing, with most of the college's undergraduate programs to end as of September 1. The problem was largely one of financial sustainability, coupled with the difficulties of recruiting an adequate number of "traditional age residential students" to the campus:

“We hoped to be the exception to the prevailing trend of financial difficulty faced by most small, single-gender, liberal arts colleges without significant endowment,” said President Jacqueline Marie Kieslich, RSM, Ph.D. “Nevertheless,” she said, “our students, faculty, staff and alumni deserve special attention and special thanks for the uncertainty with which they have lived and the support that they have provided. Our Trinity community has given energy and commitment beyond all expectation. ”

At the time of its closing, around 5,000 students had been educated at Trinity. The facility is now the Trinity campus of the University of Vermont.

Photo: Trinity College, Yearbook

ChiQ Bar

Chiq Bar live performance



ChiQ Bar

 

Location: 4900 66 Street, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Opened: April 2006

Closed: January 2009

Going by the written descriptions, ChiQ Bar comes across (at least at first) as a pretty fancy place, a clear cut above your average beer-and-karaoke dyke dive.

But when I started looking at the photos, she started looking like a dyke dive to me--albeit a dyke dive with a lot of square footage. And with a few extra bells and whistles here and there to be sure. But it's still all good. Dyke dives are definitely okay with me. Even the kind with a couple of upgrades.

This was the scoop on ChiQ Bar from Lesbian Nightlife:

Come check out Tampa Bay's Premier and Florida's largest Lesbian Nightclub! 7,000 Sq. ft. of hot ladies! Open 6 days a week.. 4pm till 2am.. Happy Hour 2-for-1 EVERYTHING 4-7pm!

Go Go Dancers, Game room, Patio w/Fire pit, Shot Girls, Leather couches, V.



Chiq Bar signage

And from Metromix Tampa Bay:

Tampa Bay's Premiere Lesbian Nite Club. Very popular lesbian nite club featuring multi-level dance floor, DJ's, live bands, drag shows, go-go dancers, pool table, dart boards, beer pong, 2 patios. Open 6 days a week @ 6pm. Great drink specials. No cover during week.

Let's not leave out ClubFly:

Type: Lesbian Club

In a nutshell: Tampa Bay's newest hottest pumping music lesbian dance club with beautiful dancers, ladies galore & even a few kings. Game room, patio bar, V.I.P. room, plasma tv's, new sound & lights. Happy hour 4pm till 7pm...

Interestingly enough for a space this large, mygayweb tells us that ChiQ Bar was "Lesbian Only":

Come check out Tampa Bays Premier Lesbian Night Club. 2 Level dance floor, Go Go Dancers, shot girls. Hot bartenders, game room, V.I.P. room, patio bar, band room with full stage. State of the art sound and lighting. Membership cards. Happy Hour 2-for-1 EVERYTHING! THIS PLACE IS NOT TO BE MISSED!

ChiQ Bar dance floor

The best written description comes from St Petersburg Nightlife. That's where we find out that ChiQ Bar actually had a lot of cultural and entertainment offerings:

Dance Club/ Gay Bar: Without a doubt one of St. Pete's hottest lesbian nightclubs, ChiQ is a dream destination for anyone in the alternative lifestyle. At a stunning, elegantly decorated 7,000 square feet, ChiQ offers a little bit of something for everyone. The main room boasts a huge dance floor with staggeringly sexy go go dancers performing three nights out of the week, and the second full room is decked out with cushy couches and a full stage for live music performances. Outside, a fire pit sizzles all night long and offers a great place for chatting with friends over dynamite cocktails. Once you've been to this idyllic St. Petersburg lesbian club, you'll have a hard time leaving. ChiQ is home to some of the best live women's acts around, as well as burlesque shows, stand-up comedy performances, spoken poetry nights and fundraisers.

So when did she open? Let the digging begin! We know she was open as of June 2007, as there is a reference to a drag show being held at ChiQ Bar as part of the St. Pete Pride Festival. In fact, she was open at least as early as March 2007, as singer/songwriter Lexi Pierson appeared there on the 7th. And then there was that "lesbian speed dating" event held at ChiQ Bar on February 11, 2007. So it's clear that ChiQ was open by the beginning of 2007 at the latest.

Whoops. Hold the presses. We now have a date as early as September 2006, as that's when blues guitarist Chic Lisitano appeared.

Ha! Finally found it! An announcement dated April 9, 2006 that ChiQ bar would be "opening soon." So we'll say April 2006 was the opening date.

According to McFilmfest, ChiQ Bar closed in January 2009. She was replaced by Club Nautilus, a gay (male) dance club. But even that is gone now.



4900 66 Street today

Photo: 4900 66 Street

Her Bar

Her Bar

Her Bar

Location: 629 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado, USA

Opened: May 15, 2009

Closed: October 2010?

Her Bar was one long-awaited baby. Here's the birth announcment from Gayette:

Alright my lesbian sisters. . . Jody B. and the girls of tHERe are opening another bar! HER bar (how cute) opens this Saturday. It gets better . . . guess what, it’s actually on the hill!
HER bar is located at 629 E. Colfax Ave.
See you there!

And here's the birth announcment from Babes Around Denver (BAD), which was headlined "Hot New Lesbian Bar in Denver - Grand Opening Party Friday":

Party Friday May 15th at “Her Bar” -Denver’s newest lesbian club – great space, great sound and great vibe.  We welcome the new bar and BAD looks forward to hosting some fun events at Her Bar. Watch for Pride weekend updates and make sure you watch the parade in front of Her Bar.

As her name implies, Her Bar was certainly not the shy and retiring type as lesbian bars go. The same was true in her self-description. From her facebook page:

Her Bar interior

When you visit HER BAR, you're in for a treat. Live Music, weekly drink specials, pool tables, girls that dress like boys, boys that dress like girls, top, bottom, you name it, we got it....

And check this out. On Thursday nights, there was "Free Poker and Free Karaoke with Cupcake." As in real cupcakes with frosting? Or is this a person?

By the time that Denver Pride rolled around a few weeks after her grand opening, Her Bar was still riding high as the New Girl on the Block. From Metromix Denver:

First Look: HER Bar

With Pride weekend among us, we wanted to feature the newest member in the GLBT bar scene—HER Bar (standing for Homosexual Equal Rights). Although lesbian-owned, they say they welcome people of all walks of life.

Jody B. is the owner of this fab lesbian installment to the scene. She also owns tHERe Coffee Bar and Lounge on Colfax. You can tell she has fun with her businesses—by having the bathroom signs read “Butch” and “Femme.”

In addition to the big circular bar located inside, HER Bar also has Wii Fit that partygoers can get down on (no pun intended). They have fun pinball games, a great jukebox and sassy bartenders to chat with. They offer live music, weekly drink specials, pool tables and more. Within five minutes, you'll feel like a regular thanks to their welcoming nature.

Denver Pride 2009 in front of Her Bar

Her Bar played hostess to many Pride 2009 events:

  

HER Bar (629 E. Colfax Ave.) is a short walk from Civic Center, at East Colfax Avenue and Washington Street. This lady- focused hangout had its grand opening in May, taking over the former Harry's Bar space.

Appropriately, HER Bar is a hotbed of Pride events, starting tonight with "Miss Dee's Country Pride," Wear your dancin' boots — and bring a fiver for the cover charge.

Then, on Saturday, it's time for a ball to mark the happy occasion. There's no need to get too fancy, though: It's a come-as-you-are dress code. Cover is $10.

Here's a youtube clip of Steff Mehan performing at Her Bar around August 2009. Gives you an extra sense of the space.

So what did the patrons think? The reactions seemed to be very polarized: there were those who adored the place, and, well, those who weren't so keen on it. Representative of the superfans was Alllie V. in November 2009:

Weekends here are lively and bustling with gorgeous and intelligent ladies dancing, playing pinball, pool, darts, having discussions about poetry, books, and art all the while sipping on a variety of drinks poured by fun and attentive bartenders.

Owners Jodi B. and Dee know what it takes to create and maintain a safe haven for women who love women and anyone else who feels like they are marginalized from the LoDo scene or the aggressive one-night stand crowds in some of the rest of the bars on Colfax.

They even have Him at Her night, where boys are welcome to come and express themselves with true freedom and just have as much fun as the girls with girls! Weekdays there's also poetry, karaoke, and poker nights. The interior is warm and inviting, with big turquoise and fuschia colored walls and art made by Jodi B. herself. There is also a food menu with pizza, hummus and sandwiches at cheap prices, a fun dance floor and tables to rest on and just chat after all the dancing.

I'm glad a place like this exists that lets women just be women and as a straight girl I'm glad there's a place that is diverse and bursting at the seams with intellectual minds who are accepting of who you are no matter what you may be into!

Then there were the usual nattering nabobs of negativity. Some of the complaints: too hot inside, no ventillation, staff too slow at closing the tab, not enough people, too much drama, place too "hyped" overall. Also seems owner Jodie B. rubbed some folks the wrong way. Which seems to be par for the course with most bar owners. (Did Jodi B. really hang a "No Men Allowed" sign inside?)

Whatever her faults, Her Bar did win an award from Out Front Colorado in 2010:

OUTstanding Women's Bar

HER Bar, www.herbardenver.com

629 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
303-832-2687
When it's women you're wantin' (no, we didn't say "wanton women"), look no further than HER Bar, where OFC readers go for dancing, pool, football, poetry, plenty of fun - and, of course, women.

So when did Her Bar close down? She had a review dated as late as October 3, 2010 (Lauren K. declared that Her Bar was "Fun and friendly!"). Her Bar was seemingly still open as of October 13, 2010, as a Professional Women's networking event was scheduled at Her Bar for that date. 

But she was certainly gone by mid-November 2010 as X Bar, a self-declared GLBT (read: gay men's) bar, had taken over the space. As GayCities so astutely observed,

From her to him
In the place of Her Bar (the former lesbian hangout), X Bar has opened and leans much more towards the male end of the spectrum.

From her to him: the phrase perfectly encapsulates the fate of so many lesbian bars....

Photo: Her Bar exterior and interior, Denver Pride

Coco's

965 Massachusetts Avenue today

Coco's

Location: 965 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Open/Closed: 1990s?

The History Project claims that there was once a lesbian bar at this location called Coco's. Guess I need to traipse up to Boston one of these days and check out this archive for myself. As I'm not finding any information corroborating this on-line.

For a time, there was a Latin afterhours club here called Coco's Lazy Lounge and Dance Club. Here's how clubplanet described it back when:

Cocos Lazy Lounge & Dance Club - If you’re planning on wearing sneakers, hoodies or any other casual apparel, you should probably go to another lounge. Cocos Lazy Lounge & Dance Club, located at 965 Massachusetts Ave prides itself on being selective at the door. So if you don’t look good, you probably aren’t getting in.

No mention here that this place was particularly popular with Latina lesbians--or any other lesbians. Though it might have been informally.

As to how exclusive Coco's was, I'm thinking this was a bit of an exaggeration.

The site is now occupied by Victory Services, which provides services to those affected by alcoholism, substance abuse, mental illness, and medical problems, especially HIV/AIDS. And when they purchased the property in 1999, they characterized it as a "graveyard of liquor bottles" with "40 bricked-in windows and no electricity." Not to mention the black walls, the blue and orange bar stools, and shiny disco balls.

Photo: 965 Massachusetts Avenue today

Somewhere: The Women's Bar

295 Franklin Street today

Somewhere: The Women's Bar

Location: 295 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Opened/Closed: 1970s/1980s

Somewhere: The Women's Bar is listed, along with its address, in the (Boston) History Project Bar Collection. More information is to be found in Box 1, Series 1, Folder 27 (to be exact). And also in Series IV, Subseries A for all you serious scholars out there.

So when was it open? Basically in the 1970s/1980s is my guess. We see mention of Somewhere in a 2008 oral history interview with lesbian activist Jill Harris ("SS" is interviewer Sarah Schulman):

SS: What was your community involvement at that time? What was the name of that big famous lesbian bar in Boston? It was called like Our Place or –

JH: Somewhere.

SS: Somewhere. That’s right.

JH: Somewhere. I worked there.

SS: What?

JH: I worked there.

SS: You worked at Somewhere?

JH: I worked at Somewhere.

SS: So you were in Lesbian Central.

JH: Yeah, yeah. I was a waitress at Somewhere between college and law school.

We also see definitive evidence that Somewhere was certainly open in Winter 1985, as it was mentioned in the Cambridge Women's Center Newsletter. Specifically, that a Black History Month Celebration dance would be held at Somewhere on February 24.

Just a little aside information. The Women's Center was founded in 1971, when women seeking a "space for activism" seized an abandoned Harvard-owned building on Memorial Drive. Later, they purchased a building at 46 Pleasant Street in Cambridge...and they are still there! That's quite an accomplishment these days.
Today, Somewhere's former building is occupied by Umbria Prime, an upscale steakhouse with a (straight) nightclub on the upper three floors.

You were surprised? You shouldn't be. Any women's space located in the "heart of Boston's financial district, just steps away from the [now gentrified] waterfront" wasn't going to survive as a women's space for long. Not when developers had no doubt been salivating over the property's "highest and best use" (from a capitalist point of view) for a while.

Personal update: Turns out my dear girlfriend worked as a bouncer at Somewhere back in her college days. The girlfriend's claim to fame: Both she and Tracy Chapman were fired from this place. Tracy for singing songs that were "too depressing." As for the girlfriend? I'll have to inquire further....

The Saints

112 Broad Street today

The Saints

Location: 112 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Opened: 1972, 1974?

Closed: 1980, 1982?

In his discussion of Boston's queer past, Michael Bronski had this to say about the Saints:

One of the most successful lesbian bars from Boston’s past was the Saints (112 Broad St.), which operated from 1972–80. Located in Boston’s financial district, the Saints was run by a collective and only open in the evenings.

Boston Spirit Magazine assembled a slightly different timeline for their Great LGBT Freedom Trail:

Saints  (former home of), 112 Broad Street: After opening in 1974, this nightclub attracted a multi-racial, homosexual clientele. Lesbians, in particular, flocked to Saints for the atmosphere until its closing in 1982.

Then there is this brief reference to Saints in a 2010 Boston Globe article:

Straight by day, Saints was a lesbian bar by night during much of the '70s until it closed in 1980. "That was my favorite bar," says Libby Bouvier, 58, a cofounder of the History Project. "The comfort level there was great."

Confused yet?

Fortunately, there is a History Project Bar Collection in the History Project Archives and Records. And though the on-line version makes only passing reference to the Saints collective, they certainly have Saints archival material at their disposal (even a Saints denim jacket!). So it's possible that the timeline issues could be ironed out, along with other related research questions. Now if only I could get my hands on said material....

Nowadays, 112 Broad Street is home to The Times, an Irish pub.

That much I do know.

And also that the Athena Club, a "monthly dance party for women," was held at this address for some years afterwards (sometime between 1978 and 1999).

Glass Bar

The Glass Bar

Glass Bar

Location: West Lodge, Euston Garden, 190 Euston Road, Bloomsbury, London, England

Opened: November 2001 (at this location) as the Glass Bar. The group behind the Glass Bar, the London BiWomen's Group (LBWG), formerly met at Vespa Lounge (1999-2001), Drill Hall (1998-1999), and the London Women's Centre (1991-1998).

Closed: 2008

Here's a description of the old Glass Bar from spoonfed:

Very chic lesbian bar set over two floors in elegant premises. they have a full programme of events and welcome casual visitors - but not men. Closed at weekends except for private parties.

WHAT! NO LADS? That's UNHEARD OF!

So how did the Glass Bar manage this feat? Quite simple, really. It was set up as a "private members" bar. From Yell:

The Glass Bar is a private members club frequented by gay women that can cater for private parties of up to 100 guests upon request. Serving a variety of beers, wines and spirits, they also provide Sky TV as additional entertainment. This venue is also available for hire. Doors close after 11pm.

But even then, it appeared that the Glass Bar was the only women-only establishment of its type in the whole of London. From RatesToGo:

The “sole women only bar in London” is a bold claim but such is the flag that Glass Bar waves. Improbable digs close to Euston station adds to the atmosphere.

Gotta love it. Only the Brits can turn a phrase like that.

Speaking of their "improbable digs," do check out the exterior in more detail. It seems that the Glass Bar was housed in one of the former gatehouses of the old Euston Station, which dates to the 1830s. (Find out more about the architectural history here.) As geolocations explains,

The Glass Bar, Euston

Technically known as the West Lodge, this [see photo above], and the mirror image East Lodge, is all that remains of the old Euston station which was demolished in the 1960s. The stonework includes a list of destinations once reachable from Euston. Although it is right on Euston Road even people who know the area well often don't realise that it contains a private members women-only club called the Glass Bar.

To a yank like myself who is used to sprawling cinder block entertainment center/bars in the American midwest, the Glass Bar strikes me as incredibly posh--though improbably small. How did a bar function in such a tiny--though utterly fantastic--space? Former patron Tracy T explains it for you:  

Just outside Euston station are 2 large monuments and inside one of them is the Glass Bar. It's a quirky and intimate space but know that it is a strictly women only venue.

There is a small bar area as you walk in and an even smaller first floor space which is used for private bookings, scrabble nights, comedy or music events.

Still, the management was aware of the fact that the "improbable digs" were rather difficult to locate. So difficult, in fact, that they actually had to venture out on occasion and rescue lost visitors! From londontown:

The Glass Bar is London's sole women-only bar. Having started out life as a travel guide and bookshop it is now a warm, friendly and welcoming bar for all types of women. The purpose of The Glass Bar is to support and encourage the artistic expression and cultural development of the London women's community.

Despite being located very close to Euston station, the bar is hard to find so staff offer to collect you from the station so that you don't get lost on the way.

The Rough Guide to London (2003) also alerted visitors to the potential pitfalls that await the unwary wayfarer. We also discover how one goes about joining this "private members" club. According to the Guide at least, one need only show up female:

Difficult to find (and hard to forget), this friendly and intimate late-opening women-only members bar (membership is automatic once you're inside) is housed in a listed building and features a wrought-iron spiral staircase which becomes increasingly perilous as the night goes on. Knock on the door to get in. Open from 5pm; no admission after 11:30pm. Closed Sun.

However, Frommer's (2008) says otherwise. They claimed it would set you back a pound (around $1.90) to join:

This is a classy, friendly lesbian bar near Euston Station, run by a tall Afro-Carribean woman named Elaine. You'll find good drinks with women of all types, plus live music, comedy, reading groups, films, and even a singles night. Technically, this is a private club, but women visitors are granted membership for L1 ($1.90) daily. Open only Monday to Friday from 5pm to 11:30pm, when a L1 ($1.90) cover is imposed.

After closing in 2008, the Glass Bar has continued to live on as a "variety of social events" held in "temporary spaces." According to the Glass Bar website,

The Glass Bar was founded in 1995 as home to a diverse, vibrant, exciting, powerful, beautiful community of women. Since the untimely closure of our building in 2008, we have relocated some of our activities in temporary spaces for now. When the economy picks up we will endeavour to find a permanent space in Central London. We have re-launched with a fresh new focus. The Glass Bar has taken up an exciting new role as an Arts & Social Club for the London women's LBTQH community - i.e. lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer and heterosexual women.

From sisterhood, girl power, yummy mummies, lipstick lesbians, feminists, career women to home providers, carers,  across cultures, class, creed, colour, religion, trans-gender and sexuality, existing to give a colourful, social mix that illuminates and enhances life experiences, through interaction, networking, discussions, debates, and a variety of entertainment in London.

The Glass Bar members meet in comfortable, friendly spaces located in Central London. Our aims are to encourage the social and economic progress of women. The Glass Bar promotes and facilitates groups and individuals whose core values mirrors our aims through networking, art, entertainment and a variety of social events.

As of 2010, the Euston Tap had been installed at the Glass Bar's former location.

This cheeky tribute to the Glass Bar has to be one of the wittiest bar obituaries ever. But it certainly captures a sentiment that I have shared for a long time. And that is that lesbians are truly the "Palestinians" of bar subcultures, with "only a few isolated pieces of land to call their own."

You’ve got to feel for lesbians. They get a rough deal. I may not be a lesbian, but the Sapphic sisters of London and I certainly have very similar feelings about one or two matters, and not all of them involve boobs. This is not a question of eroticism, human biology, dungarees, or grossly erroneous stereotypes. This empathy is purely based on the near non-existence of lesbian bars in London.

Everyone in London loves bars, but lesbians seem to be the Palestinians of the London sub-cultures. They’re granted only a few isolated pieces of land to call their own. London is rich with bars and pubs for sports fanatics, bars and pubs for goths, bars and pubs for yummy mummies, even bars and pubs for bad karaoke singers to inflict mass carnage. Lesbians, however, are the pariahs of the gay world, pressured into hanging out in gay (read: men’s) bars, or waiting for that one monthly night when a specific bar might turn girl-queer.

It’s bars like The Euston Tap that are to blame for this inequality. This peculiarly miniscule Grade II lodge, set discreetly between the hurtling northern edge of the congestion charge zone and the all-trains-north maelstrom of Euston Station, was once known as The Glass Bar. The Glass Bar was one of London’s few truly lesbian-only bars. That was before it closed down and The Euston Tap took its place. Out went the boobs, in came the beers and the Adam’s Apple.