The end of an era: Pasadena’s only gay bar closes its doors after 45 years
There's a little less glitter now in Pasadena.
Mark
There’s a little less glitter now in Pasadena.
Last week, The Boulevard, a.k.a. the California city’s last-standing gay bar, closed its doors after 45 years of business with a farewell drag and karaoke party on Halloween.
The decision to shutter came from owner Steven Terradot, who’s retiring after purchasing the bar back in 1999 from its original forefathers.
“We’ve had weddings. We’ve had funerals. We’ve had college graduations,” he told LAist.
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“We were more than just a place that sold drinks — or more than a party. I like to think that we had a conscience here, you know?”
Of course, part of that conscience came from operating during some of the LGBTQ+ community’s hardest years.
The Boulevard originally opened in 1981 after its first owners, Randy Bigg and his partner, snagged the spot and acquired a liquor license, transforming what was formerly a LGBTQ+ beer-and-wine bar into what would eventually be known as “the gay Cheers.”
And even during the AIDS epidemic, the bar hung on, providing a place of refuge and community for a city that was losing its LGBTQ+ community at an alarming rate.
It was at that time that funerals were “commonplace.”
“All we could do was try to get money for medicine or food or rent because people would get fired, they’d lose their health insurance,” Terradot recalled.
After surviving those years as both a regular and occasional bartender, he felt a calling to ensure The Boulevard’s survival.
“I lost 11 friends during the AIDS epidemic,” he said. “I wanted to do something.”
Thus, a new era for The Boulevard was forged: its weekly drag and karaoke nights became can’t-miss entertainment in the town, and in recent years, the trans community has rallied around its crowded bar as a “familial” gathering place.
As David Imai, a longtime regular who spoke to LAist, said, it feels like Pasadena is “losing a resource and a local hangout.”
That said, the sun hasn’t officially set yet. While Terradot has ceased operation, he told LAist that he’s holding out until the middle of November before “packing it all up and walking into the sunset.”
After all, he knows more than anyone the importance of an LGBTQ+ bar.
“You still have kids that are lost that come in here, OK? You need to stick a hand out to them,” he explained. “So that is the role of the gay bar.”
For now, its Instagram page greets its loyal customers with an emotional sendoff: “Closed. Thank you for an incredible night and for an amazing 45 years! Forever grateful for all the love and support.”
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