Julius
The oldest gay bar in New York City is Julius' Bar, which is located on the corner of West 10th and Waverly Place. The landmarked Greenwich Village building was built in the middle of the 19th century and was initially a grocery store before changing to a bar. Aside from being one of the city's oldest continuously running bars, Julius' is renowned for its historic "Sip-In" on April 26, 1966, when members of the Mattachine Society—one of the first LGBT rights organizations in the nation—opposed a state law that forbade bars from serving “suspected gay men or lesbians."
Not only did the demonstration lead to the courts ruling in 1967 that gay people had the legal right to assemble and be served alcohol, but it also became one of the most significant instances of gay rights activism before the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
This is the oldest gay bar still in operation in New York, having opened in 1862. The venue has served as the backdrop for movies like Can You Ever Forgive Me, and you can feel the strong sense of history and community that exists here. Older customers sip their draft beers at the long wooden bar as younger groups tend to congregate at tables in the back and fill the well-stocked jukebox; this is due to the establishment's recent resurgence in popularity (as they chomp down on grilled cheeses and other cheap eats from the in-house grill).
The hip and jam-packed party Mattachine—run by John Cameron Mitchell, Amber Martin and Angela Di Carlo, and named in honor of the Mattachine Society, which held a 1966 "sip-in" protest at the bar—happens once a month on Thursdays.
- Location: 159 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014
- Website: https://www.juliusbarny.com/
- Phone: +1 212-243-1928
