“ ‘Over the hill’ was a common viewpoint of Valley gays,” Adkins says in an interview. West Hollywood bar patrons, however, looked down on The Valley bars, says Richard Adkins, a board member with the historic preservation organization Hollywood Heritage. San Fernando Valley LGBTQ bars were local watering holes where people from the neighborhood felt comfortable. A process is underway to have the site designated a cultural-historic monument.
When Oil Can Harry’s closed in January, the 52-year-old establishment was the oldest queer bar in Los Angeles County. Shaw also released an album titled “Songs Tailored to Your Taste.”ħ things you didn’t know about the historic gay club Oil Can Harry’s During her performances at the post club, Shaw, who was well known in the lesbian community, wore a suit with a bow tie and sat on top of the piano, while looking into the audience and singing torch songs in her sultry voice.
Club Laurel was an upscale lesbian venue owned by singer Beverly Shaw, who was a nightclub pioneer and identified as a lesbian in the 1950s.Ĭlub Laurel opened in 1957 and was one of the earliest lesbian nightclubs in the San Fernando Valley.
