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Twins, Bacchus, Chicken Coop, Numbers, Etc.


Gilder

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Lynn was the one that was killed. Marion C. is still around. I found out from an old timer that Twins was on the south side of Lovett, sort of between Baja Sam's and KLOL that were on the north side.

Marion E. Pantzer was shot and killed in "Just" Marion and Lynns on March 11, 1986. Her partner Lynn Hornaday was not hurt. The club was located at 903 Richmond. Twins was located in the 3200 blk of Stanford right behind the Chicken Coop and around the corner from Bacchus which was located on Lovett.

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Marion E. Pantzer was shot and killed in "Just" Marion and Lynns on March 11, 1986. Her partner Lynn Hornaday was not hurt. The club was located at 903 Richmond. Twins was located in the 3200 blk of Stanford right behind the Chicken Coop and around the corner from Bacchus which was located on Lovett.

Ah, yes - flashback. I'm thinking of another community-prominent Marion.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Won't swear to it, but think it was called Twins.

Same era (early 80's) there was a lesbian bar on Lovett (south side, between Roseland and Stanford), which sat far back on the lot. That may have been Twins, but I'm thinking it was called something else. Anyone remember? It holds the distinction of having had the first CD jukebox I ever saw.

Marion E. Pantzer was shot and killed in "Just" Marion and Lynns on March 11, 1986. Her partner Lynn Hornaday was not hurt. The club was located at 903 Richmond. Twins was located in the 3200 blk of Stanford right behind the Chicken Coop and around the corner from Bacchus which was located on Lovett.

You're correct on all counts. Thanks, Susan - couldn't remember Bacchus for the life of me. :)

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  • 1 year later...

I went online to maps.google.com to look around at the Montrose neighborhood since I have been away from Houston and the Montrose area since around 1986 or so. It was painful to see a vacant lot where the Midnight Sun used to be located. Replaced for a parking lot? Really? Other equal disasters were very discouraging like Dirty Sally's. Change is o.k. as long as it is change for the better.

It's clear that people investing in the community do not have their heart in it - just their pocket book and self serving interests.

By the way, I noticed that noone mentioned The COPA. Remember that one? It was located in the corner of an L-shaped strip of businesses on the corner of Richmond and Kirby. The music, dance floor and good times were amazing. I understand it has long been changed to something else. I'm not sure when the demise of The Copa happened but it was quite an exciting place - just a little removed from the central area of the heart of Montrose.

I've tried to theorize about the devolution of Montrose's community personality from the 80's to the present. Some changes, of course, happen even in the best of times. But I am thinking that perhaps one possible source of so many businesses going by the wayside might include revenue lost as a result of those who, sadly, may have had to prioritize personal funds towards health care related expenses. Forgive me if I am missing facts which are obvious to those who have lived in the Montrose area over the course of the last two and a half decades, or less. I would love your feedback.

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It was painful to see a vacant lot where the Midnight Sun used to be located. Replaced for a parking lot?

Well, sort of.

The front portion of the Midnight Sun was demolished. The back part (where they had the drag shows) was adapted and is now a veterinarian clinic for cats.

So not all's lost.:)

(Even in the gay community, the loss of the Midnight Sun is bearable.)

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By the way, I noticed that noone mentioned The COPA. Remember that one? It was located in the corner of an L-shaped strip of businesses on the corner of Richmond and Kirby. The music, dance floor and good times were amazing. I understand it has long been changed to something else. I'm not sure when the demise of The Copa happened but it was quite an exciting place - just a little removed from the central area of the heart of Montrose.

I was never there, but a cop I knew at the time said it was a major druggie place.

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  • 6 months later...

In the late '60's the Plantation on West Gray was the spot. Liberace visted there after one of his Houston performances.

The owner, Gene Howell, then opened The Farmhouse, off Westheimer.

Jerry Vanover, 'Big David', and Tiffany Jones (Ken Whitehead) danced in drag in Jerry's club on Westheimer east of Montrose.

After 'after hours' it was Art Wren's restaurant on Westheimer where it was Halloween every night!

Those really were the good old days!

WOW, these are all of my favorite memories!!! I miss going to Art Wren's, our gang always sat in the middle both facing Westheimer. To have just one of those nights back...

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WOW, these are all of my favorite memories!!! I miss going to Art Wren's, our gang always sat in the middle both facing Westheimer. To have just one of those nights back...

Welcome to HAIF, and would love to hear more about those days.

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The Halloweens my friends and I spent in Montrose in the early 80's were the best ever!!!

I worked for an audio company in the mid 80's... We did two places in Montrose- lights and sound in a lesbian bar called Crystal's (I remember it being north of Westheimer, maybe off of Fairview, but, the memory is fuzzy), and we put a sound system in a place on Lovett called Rooster's, which became Mothers.

I used to have a bad-assed cigarette lighter- it was waterproof, you wore it as a pendant around your neck. After we finished a service call at Rooster's, About halfway home, I realized I left my lighter at Rooster's... My boss was like, "forget about it, man, it's gone, we aren't going back there unless we're being paid"... lol

(and you audiophiles would FREAK OUT if you ever saw what is driving the sound system at Numbers.....)

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  • 5 weeks later...

This was in some of the Civic organizations archives for a tour of Avondale Ave.

It's an ad from the 70's.

Does anyone remember it?

I remember the name Theodore's but I can't place the building on that corner. I'm sure I was never there, maybe never even knew where it was. Probably heard about it on the radio.

I was at a restaurant in the 200 block of Westheimer, north side of the street, several times in the early 1970s. It was where we held some staff get-togethers when I worked for KAUM. It was 'Continental.' I remember it was where I first saw someone doing Everclear shots and the first place I ever heard the term portion control to explain the uniform sizes of the entrees and sides. The food was not memorable. I have been trying for years to remember the name of the restaurant and Stubbs does not ring a bell.

It was in a wood frame house; as I recall we gathered in an upstairs dining area that was private; just off the room we were in was an enclosed porch overlooking the street. The building at that address now until recently housed Fabio's and was built only about 10 years ago.

This was pre-1974. Twins, Bacchus, Chicken Coop, et. al. were much later in the decade weren't they?

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  • 1 year later...

The above is a link to a Texas Monthly article.

 

Forty years (and more) of the exuberant, eclectic neighborhood where I was born, grew as a writer, and found inspiration for the early pages of this magazine.

by William Broyles

 

The rest of it requires subscription or registration.

 

Rather than just posting links, it is better to include a description of excerpt of what is linked. 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not mentioned yet, although it was not in Montrose, was Dave's. An upstairs gay dance club in Rice Village. I was there a few times in 1962, On the north side of the Village, very close to the high rise bank there now, was a "speak-easy" type gay bar with a view hole in the front door. You had to know someone to get in, or at least convience the doorman that you were gay. I don't remember the name.

 

Also, the Pink Elephant (close to San Jacinto and Jefferson), Simpson's Diner (Main @ Bell) and the famous drag bar on Bell, behind Simpson's Diner.

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  • 8 months later...

"Just Marion and Lynns" was located at the southeast corner of Fairview and Grant (presently occupied by Cousin's). In the mid-80s it moved to the location on Richmond, and that's where Marion was shot and killed in a senseless, unsolved holdup attempt. She was a highly regarded member of the community. I don't know of any ties between Kindred Spirits and JM&Ls.

The building which housed Charlie's Coffeeshop is now occupied by Chances, which caters to a lesbian clientele. The owners of Charlie's also owned the Hotel Montegue in downtown Houston. In between those two businesses, it was also used (briefly) as a stage theater venue. In the late 70s and early 80s it was known as the Booby Rock, which (not unexpectedly) featured topless dancers. At that time the exterior of the building was clad from eaves to foundation in wood shingles, and two nude, female, pseudo-Greek concrete statues flanked the front door. To make them "classier", they were slathered in aluminum paint. One night a drunk ran into one, breaking her legs off at the ankles. Rather than replacing her, the management merely wrapped a length of chain around her neck to hold her up; she now rests in the back patio of Mary's.

 

Does anyone have any information or pictures of Sybil Leek's Cauldron which was originally at 1100(1102) Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77006 (which then became Charlie's Coffee Shop, then Chances, and now, semi-ironically, another restaurant named Underbelly) then moved to approx 2537 University Blvd?

 

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  • 1 year later...

WOW. I just read through this entire thread. I had forgotten about Lola's, which was on Fairwiew across from the Rip Cord. What a real sleazy pit that was. Keep seeing Jerry Vanover's name--what an insane character. He can't possibly still be alive. Someone also mentioned the Round Table and Baja Sam's (they had a great brunch on Sunday's). Also, that tree limb which was on the patio on the Locker--it use to have a can of crisco tied to it. I ate many a hamburger at Prince's and lots of brisket at that BBQ place that was in that old gas station catty corner from it. Don't forget that great Mexican restaurant that was down the street, right at the curve on Crocker.

The Chicken Coop was one of the wildest, yet laid back places I have ever been in. You could be drinking at he bar talking to someone in a business suit, next to a hustler being harrangued by a trannie hooker, buy a couple of joints from someone at the pool table. Then go sit at that round table and get good and loaded. You could also buy a capsule of X with your beer at the Midnight Sun.

Does any remember the motorcycle over the pool table in Mary's? Or Mary's in Galvaston? Or watching Fanny Farmer drive up to Mary's on his motorcycle with his dog perched in front of him. Or the bartender's in Mary's swinging from that trapeze behind the bar? And what went on out on that patio and back bar is stuff for porn films.

I've got to say I am glad Half Price books is still open. It was one of my favorite bookstores.

Lower Westheimer on the weekends was a circus. It was bumper to bumper. Talk about alive! I'm glad I got to spend the early 80s there. It's a time that can't be repeated. I'm glad my car knew it's way home cause many a night I was seeing two versions of the road. Fortunately it was a straight drive up Main Street to Hermann Drive.

Does anyone remember when the KKK marched down Westheimer. There were 100 klan's men and 400 cops. I think that was in 83/84. Or that roller skating group, The Urban Animals? How about Cabaret Voltaire--I still have a cassette from a Bark Hard show there.

After I left Houston in 86 I heard that the crack epidemic pretty destroyed that area.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 years later...
On 10/5/2007 at 8:47 AM, Vertigo58 said:

Someone here (or elsewhere) must know. Guess it really doesn't matter but if memory serves well, I am pretty sure Midnight Sun was on Westheimer. As teens we used to drive around on weekend's :blush: as did hundreds of other Houstonian's and I could swear it was on Westheimer once?

Can everyone sleep tonight pondering? Help!

yes it was the Midnight Sun on Westheimer. I used to bartend at the Copa and was very familiar with all bars in the area

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On 9/11/2010 at 10:00 PM, Stargaze said:

I went online to maps.google.com to look around at the Montrose neighborhood since I have been away from Houston and the Montrose area since around 1986 or so. It was painful to see a vacant lot where the Midnight Sun used to be located. Replaced for a parking lot? Really? Other equal disasters were very discouraging like Dirty Sally's. Change is o.k. as long as it is change for the better.

It's clear that people investing in the community do not have their heart in it - just their pocket book and self serving interests.

By the way, I noticed that noone mentioned The COPA. Remember that one? It was located in the corner of an L-shaped strip of businesses on the corner of Richmond and Kirby. The music, dance floor and good times were amazing. I understand it has long been changed to something else. I'm not sure when the demise of The Copa happened but it was quite an exciting place - just a little removed from the central area of the heart of Montrose.

I've tried to theorize about the devolution of Montrose's community personality from the 80's to the present. Some changes, of course, happen even in the best of times. But I am thinking that perhaps one possible source of so many businesses going by the wayside might include revenue lost as a result of those who, sadly, may have had to prioritize personal funds towards health care related expenses. Forgive me if I am missing facts which are obvious to those who have lived in the Montrose area over the course of the last two and a half decades, or less. I would love your feedback.

Hi - thanks foe mentioning. I used to work first as a doorman there then as a bartender

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On 10/29/2019 at 2:39 PM, jimmy bartling said:

Hi - thanks foe mentioning. I used to work first as a doorman there then as a bartender


Hi Jimmy - by "there", do you mean the Midnight Sun? If so, was it at the same time that Mary worked as a bartender there?
(This is the same Mary that later tended bar at Mary's - the fact that their names were the same was a coincidence).

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  • 1 month later...

Reading this thread brought back some wonderful, and some not so wonderful, memories of underage partying, freedom, experimenting, and starting the whole “growing up and figuring things out” process. I got drunk and ruined a couch at Twins,  I attended Marion’s funeral (my first funeral), I played pool on Kindred Spirit’s pool team for several years and visited many of the bars mentioned above during league play. My favorites were The Venture In, Mary’s, and KS of course. The Marion of JM&L’s was not the Marion who owned Kindred Spirits btw. I moved away from Houston, I do miss it sometimes (especially the food!). Thanks again for the memories!

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10 hours ago, justchris said:

The Marion of JM&L’s was not the Marion who owned Kindred Spirits btw.


That's correct - Marion Coleman owned Kindred Spirits.
The late Ray Hill described what lesbians had to go through back in the day. Seems that the HPD was using an obscure law that forbade people from appearing in public wearing attire meant for the opposite sex. This included blue jeans. Those who were in violation could be arrested and jailed.
However, there was a loophole. Pants were considered ladies' attire if they zipped up the back, so whenever Marion got wind that a raid was imminent she'd yell "Switch!".
The women would immediately go into the restrooms and switch their jeans back to front, therefore making them technically legal.
"You haven't seen anything," Ray would drawl "until you've seen a big ol' dyke walking around wearing her Wranglers backwards."

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  • 3 weeks later...

I hope the person who said he would like to write a history of the Chicken Coop does that. Would it be possible for there to be no connection to organized crime?  One night back in the 70's I watched kid after kid being rented out on the street corner the Chicken Coop was on. That was also the same thing being done from the rooms above the Stonewall Inn in NYC. The manager of the Stonewall in was Ed (The Skull) Murphy the son of Vito Genovese the head of The Vito Genovese Crime Family of New York and Philadelphia. I remember reading a story about what I saw going on outside The Chicken Coop was connected to a Philadelphia Crime Organization.  That would have been the Genovese Crime Family. No one did anything without them owning it.

 

Ed (The Skull) Murphy besides being the manager of the Stonewall Inn paid for the first Pride Parades was crowned Mayor of Christopher Street, put in an Open Cadillac and led the parades. Some of this history is in A Renegade History of The United States by Thaddeus Russell. This all needs to be dug up and thoroughly researched.  Be sure and watch The Irishman directed by Martin Scorsese.

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  • 4 months later...
On 9/11/2010 at 9:00 PM, Stargaze said:

I went online to maps.google.com to look around at the Montrose neighborhood since I have been away from Houston and the Montrose area since around 1986 or so. It was painful to see a vacant lot where the Midnight Sun used to be located. Replaced for a parking lot? Really? Other equal disasters were very discouraging like Dirty Sally's. Change is o.k. as long as it is change for the better.

It's clear that people investing in the community do not have their heart in it - just their pocket book and self serving interests.

By the way, I noticed that noone mentioned The COPA. Remember that one? It was located in the corner of an L-shaped strip of businesses on the corner of Richmond and Kirby. The music, dance floor and good times were amazing. I understand it has long been changed to something else. I'm not sure when the demise of The Copa happened but it was quite an exciting place - just a little removed from the central area of the heart of Montrose.

I've tried to theorize about the devolution of Montrose's community personality from the 80's to the present. Some changes, of course, happen even in the best of times. But I am thinking that perhaps one possible source of so many businesses going by the wayside might include revenue lost as a result of those who, sadly, may have had to prioritize personal funds towards health care related expenses. Forgive me if I am missing facts which are obvious to those who have lived in the Montrose area over the course of the last two and a half decades, or less. I would love your feedback.

I worked at the COPA for several years in the early 80's it was a wild time. Primary owners were Gene Howell and Lynn Ganey. Their were several other investors that had minor investments; Wayne Barton (construction & maintenance) Mike Brumbelo (Electronics/ sound systems) and a third co-owner (name not recalled). Managers were Gary Smith and his assistance Vince.

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On 9/11/2010 at 9:00 PM, Stargaze said:

I went online to maps.google.com to look around at the Montrose neighborhood since I have been away from Houston and the Montrose area since around 1986 or so. It was painful to see a vacant lot where the Midnight Sun used to be located. Replaced for a parking lot? Really? Other equal disasters were very discouraging like Dirty Sally's. Change is o.k. as long as it is change for the better.

It's clear that people investing in the community do not have their heart in it - just their pocket book and self serving interests.

By the way, I noticed that noone mentioned The COPA. Remember that one? It was located in the corner of an L-shaped strip of businesses on the corner of Richmond and Kirby. The music, dance floor and good times were amazing. I understand it has long been changed to something else. I'm not sure when the demise of The Copa happened but it was quite an exciting place - just a little removed from the central area of the heart of Montrose.

I've tried to theorize about the devolution of Montrose's community personality from the 80's to the present. Some changes, of course, happen even in the best of times. But I am thinking that perhaps one possible source of so many businesses going by the wayside might include revenue lost as a result of those who, sadly, may have had to prioritize personal funds towards health care related expenses. Forgive me if I am missing facts which are obvious to those who have lived in the Montrose area over the course of the last two and a half decades, or less. I would love your feedback.

I worked at the COPA for several years in the early 80's it was a wild time. Primary owners were Gene Howell and Lynn Ganey. Their were several other investors that had minor investments; Wayne Barton (construction & maintenance) Mike Brumbelo (Electronics/ sound systems) and a third co-owner (name not recalled). Managers were Gary Smith and his assistance Vince.

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On 10/29/2019 at 2:39 PM, jimmy bartling said:

Hi - thanks foe mentioning. I used to work first as a doorman there then as a bartender

Hi Jimmy,   I think I recall you working at the bar.  By the time i started working there Mike Lake was head doorman and his boyfriend was the DJ.

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  • The title was changed to Twins, Bacchus, Chicken Coop, Numbers, Etc.
  • 9 months later...

Hi all. I know this is an old thread. I am Hector. The owner of the Midnight Sun was J Mayer not Meyer. Of all that old group he is the only one still alive from those days. I know because we have lived together since the fall of '80. Oliver, Sally (Dirty Sally), Bob Kneely, Randolph and Garcia all passed away.

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On 11/22/2008 at 11:33 PM, An Elvis from Hell said:

How interesting. Jack Meyer owned the Midnight Sun (which was always at 534 and it's name was taken from a bar in San Francisco), Bayou Landing, Momma's and Depot Station. But Bob Neely owned QTs. I use to party in the Midnight Sun and knew Jack, also in The Chicken Coop, which was across the street and was owned by Oliver Pierceson--who also owned Dirty Sally's on Avondale. Jesus, I don't think any of these guys are still alive. Jack and Oliver would have to be way in their 80s and Neely would be in his early 70s. These guys loved to party. My X was long time friends with these guys. The stories I could tell you about those places--as well as Mary's, The Drum, The Mining Company, The Officers Club, ect......

I left Houston many years ago, 22 actually. I live in NYC and am thinking of writing a book about The Chicken Coop (fiction-ish). Would anyone have a picture of The Chicken Coop? Or know where I can find one? I've drawn a rough floor plan, but would love a real visual. Also, does anyone remember the name of the lesbian bar that was attached to it? It's entrance was up some stairs on Stanford.

Anyone remember the old House of Pies/Guys on Kirby Drive? That place was wild.

I was there. I am Hector.

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