Bars: 19 Bar in Minneapolis has been gay bar for six decades

In the fickle bar business, longevity is never a given. But for 61 years an unassuming hole-in-the-wall has quietly (and not so quietly) been a beer-swilling sanctuary for the Twin Cities gay community.

Loring Park's inconspicuous 19 Bar, opened in 1952, predates disco and even the Eisenhower administration. To this day, it's a frill-free neighborhood haven where a mixed-age crowd commingles.

"All of these people, a lot of these connections have remained throughout the decades," said manager Casey Rusco, who as a University of Minnesota student in 2009 wrote his senior thesis on the 19's history as a hub for a marginalized group. "It's especially interesting because it was before the [gay rights] movement, before [the] Stonewall [riots]. It was just a safe space with no windows to chat and have a beer and actually be yourself. Fifty years later, they're still doing that."

Much of the 19's current constituency is too young to remember the Bee Gees, let alone the Vietnam War. But Glen Will, 83, has been a regular since the day the place came under new ownership and officially became a gay bar in 1957. Back then there were only a few other gay bars in town, Will said, including the Happy Hour, which was absorbed by the Gay 90's in 1975. "We had a piano at one point and a guy by the name of Bob would play and we'd gather around and sing," recalled Will, who plans to duck into the 19 during this weekend's Twin Cities Pride Festival.

The windowless watering hole resembles a typical Anytown, USA tavern. Time-toughened pool tables fill the left side of the dark room, an old jukebox sits in one corner, and the walls are decked out in beer swag. If it wasn't for a dude-dominated clientele — and an overt sign above the bar — you wouldn't distinguish it from any other lovable dive.

"When I first bought it," said owner Gary Hallberg, "I had the neon [sign] made that says 'gay bar' because we'd have so many people come in and not know it was a gay bar at all and then all of a sudden be offended if they saw two guys kissing, [like] 'Hey, what the hell!' Now, don't tell me you didn't know it [laughs]."

The innocuous 19 is a low-key alternative to the rowdier club Saloon or the trendier Jet Set. But Hallberg said prior to his ownership the bar had a stigma as a "hustler bar," where pickups and male prostitution were common.

Until 1990, the bar saw Sunday-night surges from midnight to 1 a.m., as a since-repealed blue law permitted the former 3.2 bar to stay open an hour later than bars with full liquor licenses. Then a patron, Hallberg said 400 to 500 weekend extenders would slam the small pub for an extra hour of imbibing.

"I only got trapped in here one night," he said, chuckling. "I was shooting pool and I should've got out of here before when I had a chance. It was so crowded I could hardly make it through the front door."

Merely blocks from the Pride festivities in Loring Park, the 19 is likely to be bustling this weekend. While less discreet than it was 30 years ago when the bar used Cat's Meow as a phone-book alias to thwart would-be bomb threats, Rusco said the 4,000-square-foot nook is still viewed as an under-the-radar establishment.

"Everybody seems to think it's kind of their little secret," he said.

Michael Rietmulder writes about bars and nightlife.

While Loring Park is the Twin Cities Pride Festival hub on Saturday (10 a.m.-10 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.-6 p.m.), the party starts Friday, and festivities extend beyond the urban green space. Here's a guide to a few other Pride happenings to help plan your weekend.

The second annual Pride-tied Beer Dabbler features 26 local breweries and 26 food trucks offering suds-and-grub pairings. Tickets include beer samples, but the food pairings are an extra $3 a pop. Tickle Torture, Koo Koo Kanga Roo and Apollo Cobra perform.

5:30-9:30 p.m. Fri., $35-$45, 21-plus, Loring Park, Mpls., www.thebeerdabbler.com

Pride moves into First Avenue's mainroom with the Grown & Sexy soirée helmed by beatstress Shannon Blowtorch and burlesque bastions Nadine Dubois and Sweetpea. Performers include the Season 3 winner of "Ru Paul's Drag Race" Raja, Iva Handful, Bazuka Joe, Ray Gunn and Dykes Do Drag.

9 p.m. Fri., $12-$15, 18-plus, First Avenue, 701 N. 1st Av., Mpls., www.first-avenue.com

Uptown enters the fray with the annual Uptown Pride Block Party, featuring music from Southside Desire, Sick of Sarah, Chastity Brown and L'Assassins, and performances from dance crew Epitome No Question and Dykes Do Drag.

6-10 p.m. Fri., free, Lake St. and Bryant Av. S., Mpls., www.uptownprideblockparty.com.

Saturday's official late-night "Lollipop" party turns the Skyway Theatre into a three-roomed "sweet and sexy candyland," with multiple DJs and reality TV drag star and Minnesota native Manila Luzon. Nina Sky and Neon Hitch are also slated to appear.

9:30 p.m. Sat., $10-$20, 21-plus, Skyway Theatre, 711 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-333-6100, www.skywaytheater.com

Seven is throwing a Bitch 'n' Brunch buffet/parade-viewing party on its rooftop. Bitch Flowers hosts, with special guest Foxy Tann and DJ Shiek. Former Viking and All Pro marriage equality advocate Chris Kluwe will be on hand.

9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun., $25, 21-plus, Seven, 700 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-238-7770, www.tcpride.org

Butcher & the Boar hosts its fittingly cheeky "Sausage Fest" in its parking lot on the parade route, slinging beer and tube meat starting at 10 a.m. The party moves into the beer garden from 4-10 p.m.

10 a.m. Sun., Butcher & the Boar, 1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-238-8888, www.butcherandtheboar.com

Michael RietmuldeR