The team used the data to create a visual representation of LGBTQ spaces from when the gay rights movement began to take hold in the '60s and into the late '70s. But the history it contains, is now being turned into an online interactive map, Mapping the Gay Guides with the help of a Cal State Fullerton grant, assistant professor Eric Gonzaba, Amanda Regan and other researchers. These are sometimes patrolled by police and you are at risk of being arrested for being a homosexual,” Frederick said.Īccording to the publishing company, Bob Damron, the author, sold his company and passed away in the late '80s. “What it showed gay travelers was also areas to avoid because Bob would add at the end of the listing in the cruise-y areas ‘AYOR’ - at your own risk.
That’s why the book incorporated some descriptors. Frederick felt the books were a double-edged sword at the time because they connected the community by putting locations out in the open. Over the years, the address books transformed from pocketbooks to thicker copies as more locations were listed. “People would be like ‘OK, I’m in Omaha, Nebraska. It didn’t say gay, gay, gay all over it,” he said. It was just something that was this size, they could put it in their pocket. It was an opportunity he was happy to be a part of. By the '70s, Frederick’s Media Arts company was asked to create advertisements and graphics inside the books. The books were created by a businessman to help LGBTQ travelers find safe spaces nationwide to be themselves. Locations like The Abbey were listed in guides called Bob Damron's Address Books that date back to the mid-'60s.
In 2011, Club Ripples had so many financial problems that Tabatha Coffey of the Bravo TV reality show “Tabatha Takes Over” gave the bar a business make-over and Garcia and Hebert an attitude adjustment, especially their adversarial relationship with staff and the community.Ĭoffey confronted Hebert and Garcia and told them that their problems were a direct result of Hebert’s poor customer service and Garcia’s penny pinching. Hebert and Garcia blamed their woes on their staff and competition. While the club was the-place-to-be in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, in the past 10-15 years, Club Ripples attendance and business dropped dramatically. Controversial ownersĬlub Ripples history is almost as colorful as Hebert and Garcia’s behavior: poor customer service, spying on staff, and penny pinching. It’s unclear when construction will begin or when the business will open. The history of the building dates to the 1950s when it was a gay bar called Oceania that closed in 1968.īurger & Beer Joint, a gastropub, will takeover the former home of Club Ripples. Ripples opened in 1972, (the word Club was added a few years later), but Hebert and Garcia didn’t take ownership until 1980. Roosterfish, historic Venice gay bar, opens again It’s unclear when construction will start and when the new business will open. The space will be turned into Burger & Beer Joint, a gastropub. “We’re too old to deal with babysitting these kids,” Hebert said.Įarlier this year, Hebert and Garcia announced they had a potential buyer for the club. In 2016, when Hebert and Garcia said they wanted to sell Club Ripples, Hebert said it wasn’t a difficult decision. In April, Paradise Bar and Restaurant - a landmark and iconic Broadway spot for the LGBTQ community - closed. The closing marks the second LGBTQ bar that has closed in Long Beach this year. On Sunday, Hebert and Garcia will host a final, private event for family, friends, and business associates. Club Ripples last dance for the public will be Saturday.