Julius' is still popular with celebrities - Lady Gaga, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zachary Quinto and Neil Patrick Harris have all stopped in, according to staff and regulars - and it has appeared in numerous films, including the Oscar-nominated Melissa McCarthy movie “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and “The Boys in the Band,” both William Friedkin's 1970 movie and the 2020 Netflix adaptation by Ryan Murphy.
That’s harder to find now.” Daniel Onzo, left, chats with Brendan Byrnes, center, and his husband Stephen Cabral at the Julius' bar. It successfully walks the line between dance-y club and intimate bar with stripper. “It has historical significance but it’s also a throwback to what gay bars used to be - lively, friendly, unpretentious. Eastern Bloc in Alphabet City is my favorite of the citys gay bars. “I think there’s a pilgrimage aspect of it, especially for younger people,” Brian Sloan, a filmmaker who lived in the West Village for 20 years, said. “Julius’ has been that space for so many people for so many years.”Īnd while New York’s gay bar scene has become a shadow of its former size - a victim of assimilation, gentrification and dating apps - Julius’ remained packed most weekends. There are many NYC queer watering holes from the 1990s: Rebar on 10th Street between 5 Av & Bop Street Julius Playhouse downstairs at Intersection For The. “Because of LGBTQ discrimination by authorities, in policy and practice, there were really no other meeting places, no community centers,” he said. The Phoenix has a strong tradition of catering to a diverse and trendy crowd, and has become a gay institution in the east village.