*** Welcome to piglix ***

Julius (restaurant)

Julius' Bar
A gray stucco-faced building seen from across a street, with a brown and white sign saying "W. 10th ST" and people on the sidewalk in front.
South (front) facade in 2008
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
A map of New York City in yellow, with neighboring areas in pink. There is a red dot in Lower Manhattan near the Hudson River
Location in New York City
Location West Village, Manhattan, NY
Coordinates 40°44′4″N 74°0′5″W / 40.73444°N 74.00139°W / 40.73444; -74.00139Coordinates: 40°44′4″N 74°0′5″W / 40.73444°N 74.00139°W / 40.73444; -74.00139
Built 1867
NRHP Reference # 16000242
Added to NRHP April 20, 2016

Julius, located at 159 West 10th Street at Waverly Place, is a tavern in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City. It is often called the oldest continuously operating gay bar in New York City; however, its management was actively unwilling to operate as such and harassed gay customers until 1966.

An event at the Julius bar at 159 West 10th Street in 1966, which is a block northeast of the famous Stonewall Inn, established the right of homosexuals to be served in licensed premises in New York. This cleared the way for the opening of many new gay premises with state liquor licenses.

Newspaper articles on the wall indicate it was the favorite bar of Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Rudolf Nureyev. In 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to bar lore it was established around 1867 – the same year as the Jacob Ruppert Brewery in the Yorkville neighborhood. Barrels stamped "Jacob Ruppert" are used for tables. Vintage photos of racing horses, boxers and actors are on the wall include drawings of burlesque girls as well as an image signed by Walter Winchell saying that he loves Julius. The bar became a popular watering hole in the 1930s and 1940s due to its proximity to the jazz club Nick's in the Village.

By the late 1950s it was attracting gay patrons. At the time the New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that ordered bars not to serve liquor to the disorderly, and homosexuals per se were considered "disorderly." Bartenders would often evict known homosexuals or order them not to face other customers in order to avoid cruising. Despite this, gay men continued to be a large part of the clientele into the early 1960s, and the management of Julius, steadfastly unwilling for it to become a gay bar, continued to harass them.


...
Wikipedia

...