So far, we have limited information on these LGBTQ+ bars in Harrisburg. If you have any archival materials or memories of these bars, please contact the LGBT History Project at history@centralpalgbtcenter.org or by calling (717)-920-9534.
Class One
Class One opened in 1979 by Ron Boudreau in Harrisburg. It was themed like a New York Style Disco, and mainly a straight bar. It was not until around 1980 when Boudreau decided to host a “gay night” that the LGBTQ+ community started to patronize the bar.
It also led to Larry Wilson realizing that bigger bars were needed, and wanted, within the LGBTQ+ community in Harrisburg:
“So, they offer gay night on a Monday night. Well, you know, who goes out to a gay bar on a Monday night, it’s the slowest night of the week… Not a good night. It’s a work week, you have to work the next day, you know, who can come out on a Monday night? It’s crazy. But they started this gay night on Monday nights and within a couple of weeks, they had a crowd in there on Monday night that equaled a crowd in there on Saturday night… to me that was a wake-up experience in that the people of Harrisburg, the gay people of Harrisburg, are crying for something like this…” – Larry Wilson Oral History
Class One opened in 1979 by Ron Boudreau in Harrisburg. It was themed like a New York Style Disco, and mainly a straight bar. It was not until around 1980 when Boudreau decided to host a “gay night” that the LGBTQ+ community started to patronize the bar.
It also led to Larry Wilson realizing that bigger bars were needed, and wanted, within the LGBTQ+ community in Harrisburg:
“So, they offer gay night on a Monday night. Well, you know, who goes out to a gay bar on a Monday night, it’s the slowest night of the week… Not a good night. It’s a work week, you have to work the next day, you know, who can come out on a Monday night? It’s crazy. But they started this gay night on Monday nights and within a couple of weeks, they had a crowd in there on Monday night that equaled a crowd in there on Saturday night… to me that was a wake-up experience in that the people of Harrisburg, the gay people of Harrisburg, are crying for something like this…” – Larry Wilson Oral History
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The Ark
•1974 •Harrisburg •Owned by Al Kochek Club 1031 •1975 •Harrisburg •Owned by Jim Bortzfield Orpheus • 1979 • Harrisburg • Owned by Jeff McDonald |
Club 1031 Matchbook, circa 1975. Courtesy of LGBT-006. DCA.
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