Hamilton’s Only Gay Bar: An Exploration of the Loss of LGBTQ2SIA+ Spaces in the Steel City

Amanda Ayer and Kellie McCutcheon

From 1969-1989, there were very few areas in Hamilton where the gay and lesbian community could safely and comfortably meet and socialize with each other. Having a space to gather is incredibly important as spaces “allow 2SLGBTQ+ people to meet one another, form connections, and build community” (3). Not to say there were none, but “some men who spend their evenings here have grown disinterested in the local bar scene and don’t want to make a nightly journey to the gay bars and steam baths in Toronto.”¹ In Hamilton, the handful of options of nightclubs, bars, and bathhouses included Club 121, The Warehouse Spa and Bath, The Werx and Billie’s Place (5). None of these establishments are open today. 

There isn’t one unified reason why all of these nightclubs, bars and bathhouses closed, and it is not very well documented. Among the list of reasons for their closures are the safety of the patrons, who were threatened when “someone called the Hamilton Spectator threatening to blow up the bar which they referred to using the f****t slur, which resulted in the evacuation of patrons in both Billies and the Windsor” (5). The bathhouses were under incredible scrutiny by law enforcement who once “raided the Warehouse, ticketed several men, charged two others with indecent acts, and collected the information of many others who were there. The owner, Jamie Bursey, stated that because of the police raid, many patrons would not return, so his business is at risk of being shut down as a result. “(5) These acts of violence and discrimination, as well as the overall gentrification of Hamilton’s downtown core, resulted in the closure of these businesses.

This lack of desirable space drove gay men in Hamilton into the public streets looking for love or sex (or both), driving up and down the streets in cars or on bikes, cruising each other. “The area from John Street to Locke and from Main up to the Mountain has the highest concentration of gays in the city – its like a gay ghetto – so its natural that this street has become a hangout.”² According to police, this was a real problem: the Hamilton Spectator reported that “Hamilton streets have been hit by a homosexual ‘explosion’ during the last year. Police admit they are baffled by an alarming rise in incidents of gross indecency and indecent acts involving men.”³

Archive Exploring

In response to the lack of spaces, we explored the Hamilton Public Library archives, looking for evidence of gay establishments in the city. We came across multiple pieces that referenced a popular Hamilton gay bar, Billie’s Place. Photographs, advertisements, and newspaper stories included Billie’s Place, Hamilton’s only gay bar (image below). Billie’s Place was a staple in the lesbian and gay community in the 1980’s for over 10 years. Located at 31 John Street North, the reach for Billie’s Place went all the way to Toronto, with ads in XTRA! A Free Gay Guide To Toronto (image below).

Nowhere to Go

What happens when there are limited spaces for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community to gather and socialize? Body Politic reporter Shane Que Hee answered this question back in 1976 when reporting on homophobia in Hamilton: “Because there is only one hotel in Hamilton frequented by gays – the Windsor – many muggings have occurred around it.”⁴ Gay establishments in Hamilton were often targets of local gangs and other homophobic individuals. Homophobic violence had become such a widespread issue in Hamilton during the 1970’s that the McMaster Homophile Association included an entire section, entitled ‘Discrimination in Hamilton,’ in their May 1976 Brief to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.⁵ In this section, they describe numerous homophobic attacks, including the attack on two gay men by members of a local gang in the summer of 1975. Even though the assailants were positively identified in a police line-up, they were later released without charges as the line-up was ruled to be “not constituted properly.”⁶ Justice was rarely served for those victims who courageously came forward after an attack. Oftentimes, the Hamilton police wouldn’t even take the names of the assailants, only the names of the victims. Many attacks would also go unreported to police due to the very real fear of the consequences of publicity or coming out.

For many years, Billie’s Place was the only gay bar in Hamilton. Just like at the Windsor Hotel, patrons of Billie’s were also targets of violence and police indifference, as described in the September 1985 Body Politic article below. While it was reported in the Body Politic, this attack was not deemed newsworthy by the Hamilton Spectator, a newspaper that rarely reported on “homosexual incidents…because of its family newspaper policy.”⁷ Despite the passing of ten years, not much had changed in the “city of hardhats and street gangs.”⁸ During a decade of widespread police raids on bathhouses in Canada, many in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community wondered: “How [could] so many officers be mobilized for…raid[s] concerning activities which have no victims, when the police department’s response time to trouble calls is so dismal.”⁹ The police force, while often unwilling to arrest homophobic assailants, were active in arresting members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community for victimless crimes. See Project Rosebud (1997) and the August 2004 raid on the Warehouse Spa and Bath and two other gay establishments for examples of police brutality in Hamilton.

Remembering Philip Stone

Who were the victims of these attacks and what were the lasting effects of the violence they experienced? While their identities were often protected, for obvious reasons, we must not forget that “two gay men” (as reported above) were real people who, following an attack, had to continue living in the same city that refused to accept them and protect them.

Philip Stone was one of these people. Philip was a talented artist and proud gay man in Hamilton, who was described by friends as a “shooting star; a twinkle in the starry night, delightful in the moment but all too brief.”¹⁰ Tragically, his sexual identity and flamboyant fashion made him a target of repeated attacks and harassment. His mother remembers him often saying, “I can’t live anymore because society won’t accept me.”¹¹ Even with support and acclamations from many in Hamilton’s art scene, Philip felt isolated in a city where violence against him and his community was so widespread.

On the night of September 19, 1976, while leaving Eugene’s Discotheque, a spot popular for its Saturday night gay discos (see image below), Philip and his friend were attacked by two men. Afterwards, Philip was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was further harassed by members of the Barton-Sherman gang, forcing him to leave. The next day, Philip was found dead in his bed. Hamilton Police deemed the death a suicide by drug overdose and refused to perform an autopsy, despite his family’s concern that he died as a result of his untreated injuries. This refusal is especially disturbing considering Philip’s brother, Steve Stone, was a Hamilton police officer at the time. Steve was estranged from Philip, claiming that he “felt vulnerable to be seen as an ally to his outwardly gay and flamboyant sibling in front of ignorant colleagues.” His “vulnerability” was prioritized over the safety of his brother. Philip died alone. His death was preventable. The people of Hamilton must learn from its violent past and present. We must open brick-and-mortar spaces and rebuild Hamilton’s permanent queer scene so that the LGBTQ2SIA+ community, especially those from marginalized groups, can feel safe in this city.

Steel City All Inclusive Softball Association (SCIASA)

Efforts are being made in Hamilton to address its continued lack of permanent LGBTQ2SIA+ spaces. While The Well remains the city’s only brick-and-mortar space, 2021 saw the arrival of the Steel City All Inclusive Softball Association (SCIASA). On their website, the Association explains that “everyone over the age of 18 is welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, gender or body type, with a special emphasis on being a safe space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Hamilton and surrounding areas.”

I (Amanda) had the privilege of being a player in the league this past summer (team photo below). There is a huge demand for these safe spaces in Hamilton, with the number of teams in SCIASA doubling in 2022. At the end of the summer, emotions were high with everyone wondering where they would gather in the months to come. Occasional pop-up events are not enough. Travelling to Toronto is not accessible, especially to those in rural areas. Hamilton needs to create more permanent spaces for its 2SLGBTQIA+ community, a point which Madeline Neumann, a past reporter at The Silhouette, justified perfectly in 2017:

The reality of queerness, of otherness, is that no place is truly safe. But the triumphant feeling of seeing whole spaces filled with people like you, of being able to let down some portion of your guard, of seeing that others like you have survived and continue surviving, is unparalleled.¹²

Footnotes

1. MacPhail, W. (1984, June 25). Gay Hookers: headlights can mean business for the gays that cruise the night. The Hamilton Spectator.
2. MacPhail, W. (1984, June 25). Gay Hookers: headlights can mean business for the gays that cruise the night. The Hamilton Spectator.
3. No Author. (1975, November 4). Homosexuals ‘real problem’ in city: police. The Hamilton Spectator.
4. Que Hee, S. (1976, November). Suicide or murder? Gay artist O.D.’s after gang beating. Body Politic, Issue 28.
5. Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement. (1976, September). Dialogue.
6. Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement. (1976, September). Dialogue.
7. Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement. (1976, September). Dialogue.
8. Que Hee, S. (1976, November). Suicide or murder? Gay artist O.D.’s after gang beating. Body Politic, Issue 28.
9. As quoted in Korinek, V. J. (2018). Prairie fairies: A history of queer communities and people in Western Canada, 1930-1985. University of Toronto Press.
10. Bradley, B. (2021, February 28). ‘He stood out’: The art, life and struggle of Hamilton artist and outcast Philip Stone. Toronto Star.
11. Que Hee, S. (1976, November). Suicide or murder? Gay artist O.D.’s after gang beating. Body Politic, Issue 28.
12. Neumann, M. (2017, November 16). I know a place: queer spaces in Hamilton. The Silhouette.