Gay Guide to Dallas
Don Baker was a Dallas schoolteacher, a Navy veteran and a practicing Christian who had never been arrested for anything. He sued the state anyway, arguing that the mere existence of Texas Penal Code 21.06 was enough to justify discrimination against every gay person in Texas. On 17 August 1982 Judge Jerry Buchmeyer struck the statute down in a Dallas federal courtroom, finding it violated both privacy and equal protection. The Fifth Circuit reheard the case with its full bench and reinstated the law in August 1985. Texas kept it until Lawrence v. Texas finally ended it in 2003, twenty-one years after Baker was proved right the first time.
Oak Lawn holds the scene, and almost all of it sits on four blocks of Cedar Springs Road, marked at the intersection by rainbow crosswalks. S4 is the anchor, with the Rose Room drag stage upstairs; Sue Ellen's and The Mining Company share an address next door; the Round-Up Saloon runs country and western with dance lessons, which is more fun than it sounds; and JR's, Woody's, Havana Lounge and Alexandre's fill out the rest. For a driving city, this strip is a genuine anomaly: you park once.
The rest is scattered the way Dallas is scattered. The Dallas Eagle sits down on Riverfront, Club Dallas covers the bathhouse end over on Swiss Avenue, and The Hidden Door, Pekers, Marty's and the Tin Room are spread through the surrounding blocks. The Grapevine Bar moved out to the Medical District in 2023. Barbara's Pavillion is across the river in Oak Cliff.
Dallas Pride and Dallas Black Pride are the two anchors of the calendar, with Purple Party Weekend drawing a circuit crowd in the spring.
Dallas is a car city and the scene reflects that, but Cedar Springs itself is the exception and is best treated as a walking night out. Everything beyond it is a short drive or a ride share.