androiduk
Senior Member
Yesterday I saw the Google car outfitted with rooftop cameras working the Church/Wellesley neighbourhood.
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Church-Wellesley Village
- Thread starter dt_toronto_geek
- Start date
torontobarfly
New Member
very true, and now, at least for the time being, the city has lost it's only gay strip club
when out of towners ask me where to go i struggle to tell them because the options are so limited...i usually end up asking why they came here instead of montreal
more and more i find myself going to str8 clubs...better music and usually a small gay segment around that don't frequent the village
Mystic Point
Active Member
Church and Wellesley has become a Museum. I was walking through there the other day and it looked like a retirement community in south Florida. Except there were no older women milling around.
Other than its possible historic value, I can't imagine anyone under 30 would find it appealing.
adma
Superstar
Which makes it even queerer.
JasonParis
Moderator
What's going on with Remmington's?
I too would agree with this, but in Toronto, it's always been that way. It's not like its a new thing. Industry would have been a great example of this from our past.
With the current exception of The Beaver, and on a rare occassion Fly, no Toronto gay bar/club takes music seriously. They just basically feed the punters with whatever they want to hear.
SP!RE
°°°°°°
Remington's is gross so I don't see any problem with it being closed.
As for dance clubs, I am sure we will see a new one or two pop up over time, but yeah, the entertainment district and clubs all over the city are catering to a mixed (hetero/non-hetero) crowd these days. Which is good. Sadly, it is hurting the Village.
From what I heard, Crews will be closed until Pride-- but I was told that renovations were happening.
As for dance clubs, I am sure we will see a new one or two pop up over time, but yeah, the entertainment district and clubs all over the city are catering to a mixed (hetero/non-hetero) crowd these days. Which is good. Sadly, it is hurting the Village.
From what I heard, Crews will be closed until Pride-- but I was told that renovations were happening.
SP!RE
°°°°°°
PS. I've been to many clubs, and Buddies has always been the best experience. Any friend that's gone or person I've taken there has loved it, gay or straight, male or female, and different ages (all fairly young though) too.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
That leather bar on Church, whatever it's called - where the elderly gentlemen in too-tight outfits gather - must have some abiding appeal though, because I've seen younger guys in there too. That look - exaggerated butchness - was quite the done thing and was even seen as rather threatening 35 years ago; I remember when one of my ( straight ) art school teachers announced in class that he had shaved off his moustache because it was now such a "homosexual clone" look! Leather bars may now seem about as cutting edge as a meeting of the I.O.D.E., but the fact that they survive and are still popular is also a marker of the diversity of the gay world.
Torontovibe
Senior Member
It's called The Black Eagal and it's probably the best place in the city to hook-up. (Which I'm sure none of you decent, upstanding types, would ever do. Well, if your friends were around, anyway. lol) I go to The Eagle and Remingtons and I enjoy them both. Every gay mecca needs a few places, for the more adventurous types. Not everybody in the gay community aspires to middle-class respectability. (thank god)
I'm also a middle-aged queer who enjoys socializing around the village. I enjoyed it just as much when I was a 21 year old punk, so I guess it's not a matter of age, it's more about mentality and feeling a sense of community. I have no interest in straight clubs or assimilation, so I'm hoping The Gay Village keeps it's character and a bit of an edge.
JasonParis
Moderator
Is any strip bar not gross to some extent? Isn't that sort of the appeal? Personally, if I'm in the mood I love a night at Remmy's and I don't see why people in this city have a problem admitting it sometimes. Yes, there are better strip bars in Montreal, but Remmy's doesn't have any competition so I'm not sure we can really complain (when most North American cities have zero). Also, with current laws, if we lose Remmington's we'll never gain another so it's important it remains, gross imperfections and all.
BTW, I still haven't got an answer. Has something happened with Remmington's?
I think you hit the nail on the head. A Saturday night at Buddies really caters to a very pigeonholed 19-25 year old gay set. Oddly enough, 10-15 years ago, Buddies was Toronto's "alternative" gay bar. It lost its appeal for me about 10 years ago (and not really because I got old either).
Well said.
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Torontovibe
Senior Member
What is it that's so "GROSS" about a nude male body? Sounds like someone has some issues. I'm sure you have sex with all the lights off, if indeed, you have sex at all. lol There is nothing gross about Remingtons. How is it good to limit choices and lose the few sexy places we do have. Little by little, more and more will be taken away. Then before you realize it, The Gay Village will be no different than any other street in the city and we lose the only place we have for a bit of fun and sense of community.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Torontovibe:
It depends on what type "hook up" you wanted though. I remember my disappointment going there the first time, expecting men dressed to the hilt - only to see what, running shoes? WTF?! Some have commented that it's more a bear bar than a leather bar nowadays - and again, the effect of the Internet (recon, anyone?) and the need for the business to diversify in order to survive sort of dictates the nature of the village and the institutionals within it.
AoD
It depends on what type "hook up" you wanted though. I remember my disappointment going there the first time, expecting men dressed to the hilt - only to see what, running shoes? WTF?! Some have commented that it's more a bear bar than a leather bar nowadays - and again, the effect of the Internet (recon, anyone?) and the need for the business to diversify in order to survive sort of dictates the nature of the village and the institutionals within it.
AoD
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torontobarfly
New Member
remingtons new owners couldn't make a rent payment and decided to close shop rather than try and work something else out
a little bird told me a current owner of several other gay establishments is toying with the idea of buying it
yes, crews was closed for liquor license violations but are also not in good shape financially...of all the clubs and bars in the village their liquor and beer sales are the lowest...lots of kids cram the place but only a handful drink...if or when they do re-open don't be surprised to see them try a cover charge at the door....buddies does it and caters to the same age group
a little bird told me a current owner of several other gay establishments is toying with the idea of buying it
yes, crews was closed for liquor license violations but are also not in good shape financially...of all the clubs and bars in the village their liquor and beer sales are the lowest...lots of kids cram the place but only a handful drink...if or when they do re-open don't be surprised to see them try a cover charge at the door....buddies does it and caters to the same age group
casaguy
Senior Member
Remington's is/was definitely gross. How they manage to find the skankiest bottom-of-the-barrel guys is bewildering. Actually maybe "sad" is a more appropriate word for Remingtons. Visitors to Toronto have always complained about how low-end it is (especially compared to Montreal).
And I guess if by "community" you mean bars that prominently play gay porn, and huge honkin' billboards advertising sex websites and places to hook up for anonymous sex then, well, have at it.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
casaguy:
Aren't those examples a valid (though not the only) part of our community?
AoD
Aren't those examples a valid (though not the only) part of our community?
AoD