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).