Goliath's (Los Angeles Gay Bar and Nude Strip Club/70's)

Goliath’s — Los Angeles Gay Adult Entertainment Tee

Subtle, it was not.

Goliath’s was part of a distinctly 1970s Los Angeles gay world in which bars, bathhouses, adult theaters, bookstores, private clubs, and live entertainment increasingly operated openly for gay men. Goliath’s took several of those ideas and put them together under one roof.

Located in Hollywood, it was promoted as a sprawling gay adult entertainment complex, combining drinking and socializing with male dancers, nude entertainment, adult films, and cruising. The name alone told you what kind of evening they had in mind: masculine, oversized, and completely unconcerned with good taste.

Places like Goliath’s belonged to that brief explosion of post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS sexual liberation when gay businesses became increasingly direct about what they were selling. Instead of hiding behind coded names and discreet entrances, the advertising could feature muscular men and promises of exactly the sort of entertainment waiting inside.

And in Los Angeles, there was certainly an audience. Gay nightlife stretched far beyond the bars of West Hollywood, with Hollywood and Silver Lake developing their own worlds of leather bars, hustler bars, strip clubs, bathhouses, adult cinemas, and after-hours spots.