Pushing the Reset Button on the Gayborhood

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar

If Philadelphia magazine is to be believed, the Gayborhood is a little over 40 years old. I’d say it’s a little closer to 30.

It was in 1979 that Ed Hermance moved Giovanni’s Room bookstore from a building on Spruce Street where the Kimmel Center sits now to its current digs at 12th and Pine. Woody’s, one of the oldest gay bars operating under the same name in the city, opened the next year, and from those seeds, a regional Mecca grew.

But gay men and lesbians had their meeting places east of Broad well before the bookstore moved from Philly’s old gay ghetto –there was Maxine’s where Tavern on Camac is now, the long-gone, lamented Drury Lane on Drury Street, and the Camp Williamsburg Inn, just down from Maxine’s and up from the Venture, now an office building. So perhaps that 40-year figure isn’t too far off.

But it’s really been in the past decade that the Gayborhood has come into its own. In the not quite 20 years since the CityPaper’s David Warner first used the word, the Gayborhood has gone from local secret to genuine tourist attraction. Starting this Saturday, the people who had a big hand in that transformation will celebrate the Gayborhood’s rebirth, 40 years on. Or 30. Or 20. Or 10.

Bruce Yelk, events chair of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus and one of the organizers of the “There’s No Place Like Home” celebration, said there’s a lot to celebrate in the Gayborhood right now. “In addition to hitting the 40-year mark, there’s been a lot of renovation and transformation in the Gayborhood in the last few years,” he said. “One of the biggest changes is in the restaurant scene – not just the gay-specific restaurants, though there are a few of those, but the overall quality and variety have improved over the past five or six years.” Pioneers like Valanni raised the bar, and new neighbors like Lolita, Vintage, El Vez and Bindi have changed the area into a playground for all, gay, straight, or otherwise.

Add to that significant changes in the bar and club scene – the opening of Knock, Tavern on Camac’s rise as a hot spot, the transformation of Pure into Voyeur and Bump into Q Lounge and Kitchen, changes at the Westbury and the opening of Tabu – and it really is a whole new Gayborhood.

The two weeks starting on Saturday, July 10, will celebrate that rebirth with special events, parties, a street fair and discount offers, all coinciding with QFest. The two festivals fuse together right after Mayor Michael Nutter cuts the ceremonial ribbon at 4 p.m. on Saturday, when bars throughout the neighborhood will screen a new documentary, “Welcome to the Gayborhood,” at 6 p.m.

The block party on Sunday, July 11, will offer entertainment and games in a carnival-like atmosphere. “We’ve asked the nonprofit organizations who usually participate in our festivals to come up with fun and exciting games and activities to engage the visitor,” Yelk said. “They’ve put their thinking caps on and have come up with some entertaining ideas.” Following the street fair, the “Relaunch” dance party at Voyeur carries the carnival well into the night.

And from July 10-24, more than 30 local businesses will offer special discounts to visitors who show a “Rainbow Discount Pass.” The offers include discounts on food, drink, dance floor admission, hair styling, gym admission, merchandise and more.

The celebration is one sign of how far we’ve come in four decades. Another is the big-name corporate sponsors, including Southwest Airlines and Wells Fargo, who have lent their support to the events.

Organizers expect plenty of non-locals to attend too: the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the folks who urge you to “get your history straight and your nightlife gay,” is promoting the event heavily to gay travelers. Which means that when you “come home” to the Gayborhood these next two weeks, you may encounter a bunch of new faces. Let’s give them all a neighborly welcome.

For more information about “There’s No Place Like Home,” visit www.facebook.com/visitgayphilly on the Web.

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