Gay bar hayward
We owe it all to Andy Warhol and Anita Bryant.
— Dave Hayward
Introduction
In 1991, Dave Bryant Hayward, co-founder and coordinator of Touching Up Our Roots, Atlanta’s LGBTQIA+ story proposal, celebrated his twentieth anniversary as a resident of Atlanta, Georgia. The matching year, writer Edmund White published his edited volume of gay short fiction in which he reflected on the intergenerational ethic of storytelling for homosexual life: “If gays tell each other—or the hostile nature around them—the stories of their lives, they’re not just reporting the past but also shaping the future, forging an identity as much as exposing it.”[1] What follows is neither a complete nor formal biography of Dave Bryant Hayward but more a story that both forges and reveals his identity. As a series of linked vignettes, each of the following sections aims to depict the many roles Hayward has played across his seventy-two years from his birthplace in Newport, New Hampshire to his college being in Washington D.C. to the municipality where he has spent most of his adult being, Atlanta, Georgia. As Hayward told me, “I sort of feel like I’ve straddled a lot of worlds” in my life. “I’ve been to some places
Hayward, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – In this city just 26 miles east of San Francisco, there were eight gay bars in the 1980’s. Now, Hayward’s last gay club standing, the Turf Club, has converted into an outdoor live music venue and neighborhood gathering space.
“We’ve gotten rid of the labels. It’s no longer a gay bar; it’s a community bar with live music,” owner Larry Gray said last week. He added, “There’s no longer a need for homosexual bars, which were safe places to meet, get information and raise money for political causes.”
Twenty seven miles south of Hayward, another city — San Jose — is experiencing a similar phenomenon. San Jose didn’t hold as many gay bars to begin with, but two of its gay clubs shut their doors permanently in the last couple of years — Brix Nightclub and Tinker’s Damn. Only three San Jose gay bars remain open: Splash, Renegades and Mac’s.
Last week, The Adobo Chronicles reported that a new government explore shows that the U.S. male lover population is shrinking. Could it be that gay bars are also becoming a diminishing breed?
“As
Our rundown below is just a glimpse into the City's past. For a deep dive into Hayward's history, art and culture, attend the Hayward Area Historical Society online (and in person!).
The Ohlone
Before the appearance of the Spanish padres and the founding of Mission San Jose, the Hayward area was occupied by the Ohlone and Yrgin Indians for some 3,000 years. They lived in cone-shaped straw and mud huts, coming down from the hills to the bay to gather shellfish and hunt sea lions.
Rancho San Lorenzo
In 1843, the Mexican government granted soldier and surveyor Guillermo Castro almost 27,000 acres of country stretching from the Bay to beyond the hills, including present-day Castro Valley, Hayward, and San Lorenzo. Castro named the area Rancho San Lorenzo and settled on the site of historic City Hall on Mission Boulevard. Castro's personal corral still exists today as the City's Heritage Plaza and Arboretum.
Haywards Hotel
On his way from gold region to San Francisco in 1851,a failed prospector named William Hayward passed through Castro’s land. Hayward liked what he saw and purchased several acres of land from Castro in what is now downtown Hayward. In 1852, Hayward set up a sm
HAYWARD — In the 1980s, this city had eight gay bars; now the last one, the Turf Club, has evolved into an outdoor dwell music venue and neighborhood gathering space.
“We’ve gotten rid of the labels. It’s no longer a male lover bar; it’s a people bar with live music,” owner Larry Gray said last week.
Gray transformed a parking lot into a landscaped patio with trees and plants, a Tiki bar, a stage and a pond with koi, goldfish and five turtles.
“We’re trying to bring dwell music back into Hayward, making Hayward a destination,” Gray said.
There’s no longer a need for homosexual bars, which were harmless places to meet, receive information and raise wealth for political causes, he said.
“The laws have changed, and people’s attitudes toward gay people have changed,” Gray said. “Straight people love coming in and seeing the live melody. Knowing it’s gay-owned and -operated has no influence. It’s free and start, blending straight and homosexual people into a peaceful situation, drawn by the music.”
Musician Kaye Bohler and her eight-piece band act at the Turf Club on downtown Main Lane about once a mon