- by Torey Olenbourg, Tulane University Law School '07, with contributions by Tara Lombardi, student at LSU Graduate School of Library and Information Science

News / Books / Social Clubs / Guides

Ambush Magazine
www.ambushmag.com
Ambush is the oldest and largest GLBT news/entertainment guide in the Gulf South.

FAB- Faubourg Marigny Art and Books - Review from Frommer's
600 Frenchmen St., in the Faubourg Marigny
504-947-3700
Bookstore which carries a selection of gay titles, works by New Orleans authors, and art. They are also an excellent resource on gay and lesbian community events.

Lesbian and Gay Community Center of New Orleans
2114 Decatur St. in the Faubourg Marigny
504-945-1103

Gay Heritage Tour

The Gay Heritage Tour is a two-and-a-half hour French Quarter walking tour that showcases New Orleans’ unique GLBTQ history and culture. Narrated by Robert Batson, New Orleans' history laureate, this tour illuminates this city's vibrant lesbian and gay culture. Known for his humor and historical insight, this spellbinding storyteller will lead you on "an irreverent, comic stroll that brings history, gossip, polemics and culture together."

Now in its 14th year, the tour recounts events that shaped an era in New Orleans:

-- the Clay Shaw trial (misrepresented in Oliver Stone’s film, JFK)
-- the tragic Upstairs Lounge fire
-- the New Orleans Gay Liberation Front
-- the 1977 Anita Bryant protest

Other figures include Tennessee Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Truman Capote and Mother Mary Magdalen Bentivoglio.

Topics include:
-- Mardi Gras and Southern Decadence
-- the role played by gay bars
-- the specific contributions of lesbians
-- drag
-- police harassment

The Gay Heritage Tour is recommended by major guide books and is open to all visitors - straight or gay. It usually departs from Alternatives, 909 Bourbon St., Wednesdays at 4 PM and Saturdays at 1 PM, upon demand. (“Demand” usually means a minimum of four people...)

The tour has a money back guarantee. Reservations are required. Tickets are $20. Group rates and specially scheduled tours are available, as is an indoor slide version designed for groups larger than 20 people.

• As of Jan. 1, 2007, smoking in most public buildings has been made illegal. However, this ban does not extend to gambling outlets and free-standing bars. If a bar is attached to a restaurant, then it falls under the ban. If you are concerned about whether an establishment is smoke-free, please call ahead.

• You’ll notice that hours of operation are not listed for the fine establishments in this guide. That’s because they never close. Most New Orleans bars are open (and serve alcohol) 24 hours/day.

• Open containers and drinking on the street are both perfectly legal in New Orleans. One caveat: glass containers are not allowed on the sidewalks. Most bars use plastic, but, should you find yourself holding a glass cup or bottle, grab a “go cup” before heading outside.

• Parking in the Quarter is horrid and the streets are all one-way, so the best advice is to walk or take a cab. The French Quarter is fairly compact (bounded by Canal St., Rampart St., Esplanade Ave., and the river) and walkable. But caution should be exercised when venturing outside the Quarter, particularly at night.

Oz
www.ozneworleans.com
800 Bourbon
(Bourbon & St. Ann)
504-593-9491
Voted New Orleans’s #1 Dance Club

"A spacious dance club with a demographic skewed to young gay men, Oz nevertheless draws a good number of straight men and women, largely because of teh scarcity of good dance floors in the French Quarter. It's open 24 hours and tens to peak very late."

The Bourbon Pub/Parade
www.bourbonpub.com
801 Bourbon
(Bourbon & St. Ann)
504-529-2107
New Orleans’s Largest Gay Dance Club
Video bar downstairs / Dance club upstairs

"There is usually a cover charge on Friday and Saturday nights after 10 p.m.; Sunday afternoon is devoted to vintage videos by assorted gay icons. High energy disco rules at the Parade dance club on the second floor. The crowd in both places is mostly male but women (lesbian or not) are welcome."

Café Lafitte in Exile
www.lafittes.com
901 Bourbon
(Bourbon & Dumaine)
504-522-8397
Billed as the oldest gay bar in the country, “Lafitte’s” was once a stomping ground of Tennessee Williams.

"This bar attracts a somewhat older and very casual group of gay men. The bar has a second floor with a pool table and wraparound balcony with a bird's eye view of the street scene below. Sunday afternoon, when the oldies spin and the paper napkin confetti flies, is especially lively."

The Corner Pocket
www.cornerpocket.net
940 St. Louis
(St. Louis & Burgundy)
504-568-9829

"Filmmaker John Waters reportedly counts Pocket as a New Orleans favorite, and with skinny, tattooed strippers on the bar and an inebriated drag queen emceeing the show, it's easy to see why. Sleazy fun on a good night, but keep your wits about you.

Cowpokes
http://www.cowpokesno.com/
2240 St. Claude Ave. in the Faubourg Marigny
504-947-0505

"Cowboy long before gay cowboy was cool, this Western-theme bar on the fringes of the Marigny triangle doubles as a local theater troupe's performance space. Cowpokes offers dance lessons and frequent contests; call for a schedule and take a cab."

Cutter's
706 Franklin Ave in the Bywater
504-948-4200

"This quiet, out-of-the-way bar just off Royal Street occasionally has live piano music or a buffet for special events. There are always weekly drink specials, however, and a loyal gathering of neighbors taking advantage of them."

Good Friends
www.goodfriendsbar.com
740 Dauphine
(Dauphine & St. Ann)
504-566-7191
Friendly & Casual

"With its tasteful decor and reasonable volume level, Good Friends provides a slightly more upscale, sedate alternative to the blasting disco bars down the street. The Queen's Head Pub on the second floor, open on weekends, has darts, a wraparound balcony, and respectable martinis. Brush up on your show tunes at the popular Sunday afternoon piano sing-along."

Le Roundup
819 St. Louis
(Bourbon & St. Louis)
504-561-8340
Friendly & Unique

One of the most unusual bars in New Orleans. You'll find everyone from drag queens to transexuals. The crowd at the Roundup is friendly- very friendly, boasting "where the bad boys hang out.

Napoleon’s Itch
www.napoleonsitch.com
734 Bourbon
(Bourbon & St. Ann - Inside the Bourbon Orleans Hotel building - no need to enter hotel)
504-371-5450

"The only no-smoking gay bar in New Orleans, this narrow space offers a tobacco-free alternative right in the heart of St. Ann-and-Bourbon gay central. The screeching diva dance music is pretty much the same in the neighboring bars, but comfy sofas and hansdome bartenders are a plus."

"One of the more popular Rampart Street bars, this small joint gets jumping late with deejays and frequent drag shows. The sunrise happy hour caters to service-industry workers just coming off the night shift."

From http://www.gayneworleans.com/bars.htm -"Ninth Circle is an exotic neighborhood bar on the Rampart strip which will make your visit to the Crescent City a memorable one. It is also one of the best late night pub's here, where you'll run into most of the service personnel from around the City."

From http://www.gayneworleans.com/bars.htm - The Phoenix is New Orleans premier levi-leather bar and the proud home of the Lords of Leather, the Cavaliers Motorcycle Club, and the New Orleans Bear and Bear Trappers Social Club. When you walk into the Phoenix, there is no mistaking that this is the gathering place for the leather community of New Orleans. Besides the hot crowd, the posters of leather bars from around the world that hang from the walls are a sure give away. If you need information about the leather community or special events in New Orleans, the Phoenix is the right place. The locals and the bartenders will be sure to lead you in the right direction. Downstairs is the main bar where you'll find a competitive pool table. Past the main bar and through the back doors is the courtyard where the barbeques and beer busts take place. Upstairs is the New Orleans Eagle. The Eagle features music and a particularly heavy cruising atmosphere. Open 24 hours 365 days a year. Plenty of free parking here, and an ATM in the bar.