Silver Lake Bohemia: A History (American Chronicles) by Locke Michael & Brook Vincent

Author:Locke, Michael & Brook, Vincent [Locke, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

The Black Cat, June 2015.

But all was not lost. The bar itself survived and initially even retained its gay identity through subsequent ownership and name changes, among them Basgo’s Disco (“home of the notorious Club Fuck! in the 90s”) and the gay Latino-oriented Le Barcito. 318 In 2008, thanks largely to the man who helped mount the Mattachine Steps sign campaign, Wes Joe, The Black Cat was officially designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 939. In November 2011, restaurateurs and Silver Lake residents Charlie Conrad, Lindsay Kennedy and Dean Malouf purchased the property and, on December 2, 2012, reopened the elegantly renovated bar and restaurant under its original, and historic, name.

The reincarnated Black Cat, an instant hit with Silver Lake hipsters, is no longer a gay bar, per se. “Given the changing times, and demographics, we wanted it to be all-inclusive,” Conrad says. 319 The new owners are hyperaware of the site’s historical significance, however, and have paid homage in the interior and exterior design. The bar counter’s original base has been preserved; a panoply of black cat images, interspersed with actual photos of the 1967 protest, grace the inside walls; and the front entrance, with its iconic “The Black Cat” sign, has been restored as closely as possible to its former state. 320 The new Black Cat’s pre-opening “LAPD-LGBT” cocktail party, meanwhile, demonstrated just how much the times have changed—immeasurably for the better.

Attendees included an array of top city and police officials, including the first lesbian head of the vice squad, an openly gay member of the Police Commission and representatives from various LGBT groups. 321 The crowning touch came on June 3, 2014, with the unveiling of a plaque beside the bar’s main entrance, declaring: “The Black Cat—Site of the First Documented LGBT Civil Rights Demonstration in the Nation—Held on February 11, 1967.” Featured speakers included Alexei Romanov, Mark Thompson and openly gay city councilmember Mitch O’Farrell.

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