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In 1975, The Silhouette, the first Lesbian bar in Harrisburg, opened on N. Front Street, outside of Harrisburg City Proper. A year later, it was sold and bought by Dottie Hale and partner who changed the name to D-Gem.
The D-Gem was always packed, and reservation of tables were highly recommended. There was also a dance floor where everybody danced: “Always packed. The place was always, always packed. And you had these little tables which you had to reserve… You had a nice dance floor, everybody’s dancing and having a good time – boys and girls.” – Nikki Knerr Oral History |
D-Gem add in Lavender Letter May 1992. Courtesy of LGBT-022, DCA.
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It was also the only LGBTQ+ bar at the time where the community mixed.
”And the owners were two women, and they had a lot of male friends, so their male friends would come and take up half the position of the bar. But then they started intermingling with each other and we started becoming friends with them, they became friends with us… Yeah, they really did a good job of bringing us all together…Yeah, they had – we all felt like this was our home, you know. It was the only place in town too, at the time. I mean for the mix.” – Nikki Knerr Oral History
The D-Gem closed in the 1990’s. The building is now a restaurant and bar called Boro.
”And the owners were two women, and they had a lot of male friends, so their male friends would come and take up half the position of the bar. But then they started intermingling with each other and we started becoming friends with them, they became friends with us… Yeah, they really did a good job of bringing us all together…Yeah, they had – we all felt like this was our home, you know. It was the only place in town too, at the time. I mean for the mix.” – Nikki Knerr Oral History
The D-Gem closed in the 1990’s. The building is now a restaurant and bar called Boro.
