Difference between revisions of "Leicester Square"
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== 1920s == | == 1920s == | ||
| − | During the 1920s Leicester Square, along with [[The Strand], ]became the focus of queer commercial sociability<ref>Queer London, 2005</ref>. It was the heart of London's nightlife and men could socialise | + | During the 1920s Leicester Square, along with [[The Strand], ]became the focus of queer commercial sociability<ref>Queer London, 2005</ref>. It was the heart of London's nightlife and men could socialise in the galleries of the [[Empire]] and [[Alhambra]], [[Jack Bloomfield's]] pub, [[Russell's Bar]] and the [[Cavour]]. |
The gay focus later moved to the neighbouring [[Piccadilly Circus]] after suffering a demise after the Met and LCC clamped down on heterosexual vice, making gay men's presence less acceptable. In 1927 the [[News of the World]] lamented the Square's "decay... its conversion... from gay Bohemianism to ultra-respectability". | The gay focus later moved to the neighbouring [[Piccadilly Circus]] after suffering a demise after the Met and LCC clamped down on heterosexual vice, making gay men's presence less acceptable. In 1927 the [[News of the World]] lamented the Square's "decay... its conversion... from gay Bohemianism to ultra-respectability". | ||
| − | |||
== 1990s == | == 1990s == | ||
Revision as of 23:30, 15 June 2012
Leicester Square is a garden square in London's West End. It sits in the middle of a padestrian zone and is famous for its cinemas and film premieres. It was rennovated in 2012.
1920s
During the 1920s Leicester Square, along with [[The Strand], ]became the focus of queer commercial sociability[1]. It was the heart of London's nightlife and men could socialise in the galleries of the Empire and Alhambra, Jack Bloomfield's pub, Russell's Bar and the Cavour.
The gay focus later moved to the neighbouring Piccadilly Circus after suffering a demise after the Met and LCC clamped down on heterosexual vice, making gay men's presence less acceptable. In 1927 the News of the World lamented the Square's "decay... its conversion... from gay Bohemianism to ultra-respectability".
1990s
In the early 1990s an American diners-style bar called the Locomotion became almost exclusively gay and lesbian. The large nightclub on the corner of Charing Cross Road, the Hippodrome, had a weekly gay night on Mondays. The Limelight, a converted church, held Sunday afternoon tea dances organised by The Village.
See Timeline of West End Bars and Clubs.
References
- ↑ Queer London, 2005
