Gay bar redding
artwork by Marv Ellis.
The Club was located on the corner of Division and Center streets in Redding, a place so miniature that it was easy to lose unless you knew what to view for. It was a safe haven for LGBTQ people of all ages, but it was also an accepting, non-judgmental place for straight people, too. The tiny block sold famously powerful drinks. It offered music and a small dance floor.
That Club in that location will be forever referred to in the past tense, by many names: Club , the Club, The 5, and the By any identify, on June 2, an administrator of the Club Facebook page announced the bar’s closure.
The letter was sudden, unexpected and offered no explanation.
The news traveled quickly on social media about the demise of Redding’s only gar lock. Reactions were swift and unambiguous.
Messages piled up quickly on Facebook, especially on the the Club page. Initially, the social media posts were mostly unhappy and nostalgic.
• “I just devote the vibe of the 5. No other bar in Redding feels as comfortable and laid back.”
• “The 5 was the first bar I ever felt comfortable Getting your Trinity Audio player ready Editor’s note: This June, Club , Redding’s only gay bar, lock its doors after 21 years of providing a comfortable haven for the area’s LGBTQ community and their friends. Troy Hawkins, a longtime patron of Club , shares in this piece how its loss will profoundly impact community members who often struggle to find local spaces where they can be their authentic selves. Three decades ago, a collective of friends and I were sitting in the dark, dank, exit door alcove in the support of Club , affectionately known as the 5. In came a barrel chested, blonde-mulleted, cowboy in impressively tight Wrangler’s. His distinctive voice, part Harvey Firestein, part Disney Princess, echoed across the brick-walled box. I emerged from my dim corner and stood on the wall next to him at the bar, to arrange a drink. After some banter, I invited him to join my collective, and four hours later, after dirty jokes, scathing criticism of other bar-goers and gut splitting laughs, I had a be Brad Thompson was among those who mourned the loss of Redding’s only gay bar when Club closed unexpectedly more than a year ago. Thompson had been going to the downtown bar for years. “I loved the because it was so inclusive. I met so many of my favorite people that are still lifelong friends,” Thompson told me recently. “It was a comfortable place. I felt like I knew everybody. Just everybody was super warm and open-minded. “I sincerely physically had feelings of loss and grief with the loss of It just wasn’t the same in Redding without it.” Thompson, who lives in Redding, had visions of re-opening Club but it didn’t work out. So now he’s working to carry on the club's tradition with The Vault, which he calls Redding’s “gayest bar and nightclub.” Thompson and his wife, Laurel Blair, own The Vault. With the help of his landlord, Jamie Lynn, and other contractors, Thompson has been laboring for months to get the exclude open. While th Redding’s only gay bar, Club , has closed and nobody seems to know why the longtime downtown business shut its doors. “It is with a heavy heart that I post that the Club will be permanently closing its doors. We did go out with a bang last night!” the bar said in a June 2 Facebook post. While the bar’s address was California St., the business was in the back of the building and fronted the corner of Center and Division streets. Local building contractor Jamie Lynn, who owns other buildings downtown and specializes in redeveloping them, purchased the building where Club operated in Like a lot of people, Lynn was surprised that the bar closed. “I really don’t know,” he said when I asked why. “I found out the same day everybody else did,” he added. Lynn said the bar owners were in good standing and current on their rent. Club ’s Rhonda Darling, who is listed as the business’ chief financial officer of the corporation that holds tOpinion: The Recently Closed Club Wasn’t Just Redding’s Only Gay Bar; It was Home
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The Buzz: Redding's only homosexual bar closes. Will it reopen under new name? Plus more updates.