Club 70
Club 70, which operated from 1970 to 1978, was the first private members club for gays and lesbians in Edmonton, Canada.[1][2] It was also the first formally established gay bar in the city. Before it opened, 2SLGBTQ people often met at house parties, parks or public bathrooms.
History
[edit]Club 70 was first located on 101 St. and 106 Ave., in the basement of a Greek restaurant.[3] When the owner realised that gay people were meeting there, he evicted them.[4] Because personal information of the members, such as names and addresses, had been left in the building, a few members broke in to remove them and prevent their members from being outed.[1] Only gays and lesbians were allowed to be members, and bringing a straight guest lead to a 30-day suspension.[1]
The club reopened a month later on 102 Ave. and 106 St.,[3] where it hosted themed nights and performances which were advertised in the Club 70 News newspaper, which also published more political articles.[1][2] Several famous drag queens including Millie performed there.[3] There were often incidents of homophobic violence outside the club.[4] Because of the difficulty in obtaining a liquor license, the club could only serve alcohol a few nights a week.[5] Patrons recall that the police frequently checked the premises to ensure that there was no liquor on dry nights.[2]
In the late 1970s, the club was also used as a drop in centre by the Gay Alliance Toward Equality (GATE).[1] It closed in 1978 due to financial struggles and the availability of other bars like Flashback and The Roost.[1] The independent art gallery Latitude 53 now occupies the building.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Club 70". Edmonton Queer History Project. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- 1 2 3 Korinek, Valerie J. (June 26, 2018). Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. pp. 227–228. ISBN 978-1-4875-1818-9.
- 1 2 3 Jared (2019-02-20). "Club 70, a first in Alberta's LGBT history". RETROactive. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- 1 2 "History of Edmonton's Gay Bars, Part 1: The Beginning". Edmonton City as Museum Project ECAMP. 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Sparrow, Megan (2024-07-07). ""A place of our own": Club '70, Womonspace, and the Creation of Queer Social Spaces in Edmonton". Crossings: An Undergraduate Arts Journal. 4 (1): 65–73. doi:10.29173/crossings251. ISSN 2816-5209.