San Diego's oldest gay bar turns 100

This year, the San Diego Pride Parade marks its 50th anniversary. It’s one of the largest and oldest Pride celebrations in the country. San Diego is also home to one of the oldest gay bars in the country and it's turning 100. KPBS reporter John Carroll takes us to The Hole in Point Loma.

#pridemonth #lgbtq #lgbtqhistory #sandiegohistory

[fearsomebeard]

I adore The Hole! Congrats to The Hole for 100 years of fun, love, acceptance and understanding.

[stevekluth]

While some bars may have been prohibited for being LGBT businesses, it was far more common for the USN to ban sailors from places for being a place where a sailor could contract an STD, code for a place where a sailor could easily find prostitutes. Still, let's give a cheer for The Hole for a century of business, most of which were as a queer-friendly establishment.

[rockyroad-hqhz]

To forge your future, is to know your past. Let us remember the people and the places whose shoulders we stand on.

[davidserlin]

San Diego has a very distinguished LGBTQ history. People often don’t know about
it because of how much space is taken up by histories of Los Angeles and San Francisco. But San Diego can hold its own. I love a man in uniform!

[JerjerB]

Congratulations. 🎉🎉🎉 And let's hope for at least 100 💯 more years!

[strafrag]

Great story. Love your shirt, John. Congrats to The Hole.

[Katnip]

Ah, the Hole! Great memories. I was there at least one beer-bust every month, for years. Met a lot of fun people and had some wild times. I even worked there for a bit.

Moved far away and miss those good old days, long gone. ✌🏼 💕

[abhiSDlive]

OMG I am the guy in the “obsessed” croptop!

[westhavenor]

I remember going there back in the 90's when I lived in San Diego. It was a bit divey back then. Looks much better now.

[jeffreyharkness]

Thank you for sharing an important part of history for the gay community.

[marryellenmonahan]

That's amazing! Who knew? Now I do. Ty.❤😊

[calboy]

I first thought this would be about the Brass Rail

[bobbifergus]

I've been there! ❤ So sad that The Flame closed down.

[genewest]

Congratulations! Live your life and be happy 😂

[slimtee]

So interesting to come across this. My brother was in boot camp in San Diego in the mid 80s. We wanted a drink after his graduation ceremony so we went across the street to this bar. It was during the weekday, so no one was really there, but we kind of knew it was a gay bar. It was the way the bartender said “So, what do we have here?”, while staring at my brother. 😅

[kylecourtney]

Was a fun bar in the 70's and 80's a real man's bar.

[bobskiba]

So it was a speakeasy run by Navy wives in the '20s, but not a gay speakeasy. What's the earliest date it's documented as being a gay or gay-friendly bar?

[arias]

I ❤ San Diego, lived there for a year 2000-01. vote 💙🤙🏼

[mysticskull]

I lived in SD for over 10 years and never heard of this bar.

[TommyChardonneret]

Does anyone who has watched this video remember the "nameless" gay bar in San Diego that was in a commonplace appearing house in a working class residential neighborhood? It had no signage, no bright outside lighting, no parking lot, and no loud music that would bother their neighbors. My active duty naval officer longterm boyfriend took me there when we were visiting from Washington, DC, for him to attend seminars at Miramar Naval Air Station back in the 1980's. He was stationed at the Pentagon in DC serving in the Naval Corpsman Command. We stayed at Bachelor Officers Quarters where right after we checked in, my Lieutenant lover would immediately muss up both beds' linens to make sure the next morning's housekeepers would "think" that we were just two guys sleeping in two separate beds! Very weird, somewhat funny, but all too necessary in those closeted days, sad to say. But that bar I'm trying to find out more about was very much preferred by gay Marines and their fellow Navy gay guys. Any memories would sure be appreciated by me, now in my 70's and living up north in San Francisco!