One Way (Los Angeles Gay Leather Club 1977-1993)

One Way — Los Angeles Gay Leather Bar Tee

From 1977 to 1993, One Way was one of Los Angeles’ great gay leather bars—a dark, rough little place at 612 N. Hoover Street, on the edge of Silver Lake. Contemporary gay guides described it as cruisy, leather-oriented and simply “A Man’s Bar.” 

One Way wasn't polished West Hollywood nightlife. The room was famously stripped down, with black walls, galvanized chain-link fencing, loud music and a wild back patio. In 1980 it was described as a “new wave men’s bar,” playing everything from Marianne Faithfull to the B-52s. 

That combination of leather and underground music made One Way especially interesting. Beginning in 1982, its Sunday afternoon The-o-ret-i-cal parties brought together leather men, punks, goths and artists, with performances by people and bands including Nervous Gender, Christian Death, Red Wedding, Ron Athey and Vaginal Davis. 

It was also very much a cruise bar. Photographer Rick Castro, who frequented One Way in the 1980s, later remembered it as the best leather bar in Los Angeles—a tiny, dark room where meeting somebody was practically part of the admission price. It was also where Castro first met Tom of Finland Foundation co-founder Durk Dehner. Flaunt

In 1987, One Way made the news when police and fire officials cleared the bar over overcrowding. There were 286 people inside, roughly three times its permitted capacity, and gay community leaders challenged the way authorities handled the incident. 

One Way lasted until 1993, giving it a sixteen-year run through leather, punk, new wave, the AIDS crisis and a rapidly changing Los Angeles gay scene.