Blacklite (Hollywood Gay and Trans Bar/1990-2009)

The Blacklite — Hollywood Gay & Trans Dive Bar Tee

From 1990 to 2009, The Blacklite held down 1159 N. Western Avenue in Hollywood—and it was definitely not interested in becoming one of L.A.’s polished gay bars.

The Blacklite was a wonderfully unpretentious gay and trans dive, known especially as a gathering place for trans women, cross-dressers, sex workers, gay men, day laborers, neighborhood regulars, and assorted Hollywood night people. It was the kind of room where different worlds that usually stayed separate somehow ended up drinking next to each other.

During the day, the crowd could be fairly mixed. At night, the Blacklite became much more distinctly queer, with drag queens and trans women taking over the room. Drinks were cheap, the jukebox was unpredictable, and nobody was coming for craft cocktails or tasteful décor.

That was precisely its charm. While Los Angeles gay nightlife became increasingly slick and commercial, the Blacklite remained scruffy, inexpensive, welcoming, and a little strange. It was a refuge for people who didn't necessarily fit the increasingly manicured version of gay nightlife happening elsewhere in the city.

The bar lasted until 2009, nearly twenty years after opening. Like so many queer dives, it disappeared without much ceremony, leaving behind stories, old drink tickets, photographs, matchbooks, and memories of a Hollywood that was considerably less polished.