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Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Friendly Bars of the 1960s

White Elephant

Opened in the 1960’s and owned by Stuart Dare.

Warner Hotel

LGBTQ+ community started to frequent the bar in the Warner Hotel around the 1960’s.

“…it had a big bar there on the first floor and it…but it was frequented by gays, but it was a very mixed crowd, but it was never a gay bar. It was just frequented by gays because they had a gay bartender behind the bar and they and you had an accepting place that didn’t throw the gays out.” – Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History

During the “raids” in the early 1970’s, the Warner Hotel Bar became less popular and unsafe for the LGBTQ+ community to patronize. 
Warner Hotel, circa 1960s Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Warner Hotel, circa 1960s Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Picture of Plaza Hotel Fire, February 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Picture of Plaza Hotel Fire, February 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Plaza Hotel

Like the Warner Hotel bar, the Plaza Hotel Bar was frequented by the LGBTQ+ community in the late 1960’s through 1976. However, the bar itself was not the main draw, the “cruisey men’s room” in the basement were:
Picture of Plaza Hotel during demolition, 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Picture of Plaza Hotel during demolition, 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
“The Plaza Hotel was less known about the bar itself and more know about the bathroom downstairs…because if you walked into the bar there was maybe one or two people sitting at the bar, but there were 20 downstairs in the bathroom…”
- Larry Wilson, 1960s Group Oral History

The bar officially closed when the hotel caught on fire in February 1976 and was demolished after. 
Picture outside entrance of Plaza Hotel, 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Picture outside entrance of Plaza Hotel, 1976. Courtesy of Historical Society of Dauphin County.
Photo of Plaza Hotel, Crossroads Magazine Aug/Sep. 1997. Courtesy of LGBT-013, DCA.
Photo of Plaza Hotel, Crossroads Magazine Aug/Sep. 1997. Courtesy of LGBT-013, DCA.
The only known surviving artifact from the Plaza Hotel, a stained-glass window, reportedly from the hotel's bar. On permanent exhibit at the LGBT Center of Central PA, Harrisburg.
The only known surviving artifact from the Plaza Hotel, a stained-glass window, reportedly from the hotel's bar. On permanent exhibit at the LGBT Center of Central PA, Harrisburg.
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P.O. Box 5629
Harrisburg, PA 17110

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info@centralpalgbtcenter.org

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  • Home
  • The Long Road
    • Beginning >
      • Early Experiences
    • Philadelphia >
      • Philadelphia Part 2
    • Harrisburg >
      • Harrisburg Experiences
    • Lancaster >
      • Lancaster Experiences
    • York >
      • York Experiences
    • Allentown
    • Montgomery >
      • Montgomery Experiences
      • Montgomery Part 2
    • Work Continues >
      • Current Challenges
    • Acknowledgments
  • With Open Hearts & Open Arms
    • Gay LIfe in Pre-Castro Cuba/Homophobia/What's In a Name? Part 1
    • What's in a Name? Part 1 Continued/UMAP/Mattachine Society
    • Leftist Gays in the US/The Mariel Boatlift
    • The Mariel Boatlift Part 2/Resettlement Camps
    • Resettlement Continued/Press Coverage
    • Immigration/What's In a Name? Part 2
    • LGBTQ+ Organizing
    • The Mariel Generation/Life in PA
    • The Eromin Center/Impact of AIDS
    • AIDS in Cuba/LGBTQ+ Rights in Cuba
    • Acknowledgements
  • Stories of Discrimination
    • Hate Crimes >
      • Anita Bryant
      • Escalating Violence
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Bookstore Bombings
    • Employment Discrimination >
      • Blacklisted
      • "Moral Turpitude"
      • Elected
      • Traumatized and penalized
      • Other Stories of Employment Discrimination
    • Transgender Discrimination >
      • High School Experiences
      • Other Stories of Transgender Discrimination
    • Housing and Property Discrimination >
      • Vision of Hope MCC
    • Conclusion
  • We Believe?
    • Early Expereriences
    • Coming Out
    • LGBTQ+ Groups >
      • Religious Life
      • Social Life
      • Political Life
    • Faith and Identity
    • LGBTQ+ Clergy
    • Responses: Backlash
    • Responses: Acceptance
    • Looking Forward
  • Duty, Honor, Pride
    • Vietnam War Era >
      • Investigations
    • Post-Vietnam Experiences
    • "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy >
      • Personal Experiences
      • Criticisms
      • Repeal
    • Closing >
      • Citations
  • History of LGBTQ+ Bars
    • Bars of the 1950s & 1960s
    • Bars of the 1970s
    • Bars of the 1980s
    • Bars of the 1990s & 2000s
    • Harrisburg, PA
    • Lancaster, PA
    • York, PA
    • Bar Spotlights >
      • 400 N. 2nd Street, Harrisburg: Pre-Raids
      • Johnny Kobler's
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Friendly Bars of the 1960s
      • The Neptune Lounge
      • The Strawberry Inn
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1970’s
      • Silhouette/D-Gem
      • Shadows
      • The Archives
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1980’s
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1990/2000’s
      • Village Tavern Night Club
      • Tally-Ho Tavern/ The Loft
      • Railroad House Bar
      • The Fiddler
      • Sundown Lounge
      • Altland’s Ranch
      • Town Tavern
      • 14 Karat Room
  • Gender Identity and Gender Expression
    • Terminology
    • Early Years: Impersonation
    • Entertaining for a Cause
    • Gender During Gay LIberation
    • Medical Classification
    • Rise of Publications and Organizations
    • The 1990s
    • Advocacy and Visibility
    • Expansion of Organizations and Activities >
      • Oral Histories and Photos
    • Where We Are Now
  • LGBTQ+ Art and Artists
    • Jude Sharp
    • Paul Foltz
    • Inspired
    • Aries and the Gay Era
  • The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus
    • What is the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus? >
      • PA Rural Gay Caucus Education Committee
    • Where were these groups located?
    • Gay Lobby Day
    • Important People
    • Pushback Against Opposition
    • What Happened to the Caucus?
  • Early LGBTQ+ Activism
    • Life Before Stonewall
    • Who's Who?
    • Richard Schlegel
    • Social Organizations
    • Effects of Stonewall on Central PA
    • Political Organizing
    • Rifts in the Movement
    • Read All About It!
  • Coming Out
    • Emily Newberry
    • Joanne Carrol
    • Amanda Hecker
    • Mara Kiesling
    • Maria Warren
    • Shaka Hudson
    • Lindsay Snowden
    • David Payne
    • Dr. Eric Selvy
    • Heidi Notario
    • Tammy de Sol
    • Cindy Lou Mitzel
    • LGBTQ+ Support Groups
  • Out on Campus
    • Acknowledgments
    • Bryn Mawr
    • HBCUs
    • Lafayette College
    • BCCC
    • Penn State
    • UPenn
    • Pitt
    • Lehigh University
    • Shippensburg University
    • HACC
  • Other Resources