TC's Premiere Showbar
Houston Drag Bars
TC’s Premiere Showbar is located in Montrose that opened during the summer of 2009. This venue was formerly known as Cousin’s until it was purchased by Tim Pugh. It has since been remodeled and the crowd that frequents the bar has completely changed and continues to grow. TC’s was voted the #1 Drag Showbar in October 2010 by Out-Smart Magazine. They host nightly drag shows except on Tuesdays, when they are closed.
Meteor Lounge -- Houston Press
Houston Drag Bars, specifically Meteor Lounge
Houston Press
Guerra, J. (n.d.). Meteor Lounge in Montrose turns off the showers. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/Meteor-Lounge-in-Montrose-turns-off-the-showers-8348431.php#photo-9148217
Steinberg, K. (2016, May 22). Male Dancers Getting Wet at Meteor Video Lounge. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/male-dancers-getting-wet-at-meteor-video-lounge-6430637
Chron, Houston Press
Website
South Beach Houston
Houston Drag Bars
South Beach is a club in Montrose inspired by the nightlife in South Beach, Florida. This club is known for popular drag shows, male dancers, and foam parties. South Beach frequently hosts contestants from Ru Paul’s Drag Race on Saturdays. The “So You Think You Can Drag!” Competition, held on Thursdays, was relocated to South Beach after Meteor Lounge closed in July 2016. South Beach is popular to a younger population, plays EDM/electronic dance music over a state-of-the-art sound system, and liquid ice jets to cool the dance floor.
South Beach Night Club. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.southbeachthenightclub.com/
http://www.southbeachthenightclub.com/
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Rich's Nightclub
Houston Drag Bars
Rich’s Nightclub was opened in 1983, shut down in 2013, and reopened in 2016 with extensive remodelling. The venue still occasionally has drag shows. Some of the parties that Rich’s used to hold were a garden party, grey party, tea dances, trash disco, and an annual foam party. Rich’s Nightclub claims to be Houston’s largest LGBT nightclub with 15,000 square feet, multiple floors, lounges, and a patio.
Rich's. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-richs.html
Mistretta, A. (2016, July 22). Rich's Reborn. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.mygayhouston.com/blog/post/richs-reborn/
Mary's
Houston Drag Bars
Said by Outsmart to have anchored Houston’s gay community in Montrose, Mary’s was a gay bar in Houston, Texas that opened as Mary’s Naturally in 1970 by Jim “Fanny” Farmer. Before its closing in November 2009, Mary’s contributed a significant amount of money, effort, and fun to the LGBTQ+ community.
During its life, Mary’s was described as “the place to get off.” An unofficial rule of Mary’s was that underwear couldn’t be worn; before the pairs were taken down in the 80’s, newcomers’ underwear were draped on the rafters. Mary’s wasn’t just a place to have fun, though. It also became a place where gay men organized community and political events, and a lot of the profit (including the tips from drag performances and vegetables from the garden out back) was donated to charity.
Matusow, C. (2016, April 02). Zipping Up Mary's. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.houstonpress.com/news/zipping-up-marys-6557633
Mary's Mural Returns BUT Is Montrose still the 'gay-borhood' (2015, February 17). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from
Miss Camp America Pageant
Eva Ma
03/09/2017
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Miss Gay USofA (2013)
Representing Miss South Central States USofA, ShaeShae LaResse of Laguna Beach Ca. was crowned the 28th Miss Gay USofA 2013 in Dallas, TX. Assisting with the crowning is former Miss Gay USofA 2012 and the newly crowned Miss Gay USofA Classic, Amy DeMilo.
Isaac "AYE MIRA" Sanchez
Eva Ma
24 May 2013, 11:39
Miss Camp America
Houston Drag Pageants
The Miss Camp America Pageant began in 1969 as a birthday party for Pat Petty. This competition ran until 2006 and included more than 250 members. In 1988, the pageant became a foundation has donated over $1 million in profits to charity, primarily AIDS-related charities. After the pageant was retired, the Miss Camp America Pageant crown was gifted to the Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History [GCAM]. The crown can be seen on display at the first floor Cultural Center in the Montrose Counseling Center building. The name itself is a play on the Miss America pageant and the pageant is supposed to be a parody of the Miss America Pageant. The Miss Camp America organization was also very engaged in the community.
According to This Week in Texas, members of Miss Camp America visited AIDS patients in local hospitals on a monthly basis. During the year of 1990, they distributed practical gifts to each patient. For the holidays, they made and distributed special gifts appropriate for the season (This Week in Texas, 1990). The chairman of the board during that time, David Stewart, spoke about the strong support they also showed to the Stone Soup food pantry. Each month, members of Miss Camp America published “a list of most-needed items in [their] newsletter. [Their] members [brought] those items to [their] monthly meeting and they [were] delivered to the Stone Soup food pantry” (This Week in Texas, 1990). They as well provide many other fund-raising organizations with “manpower, costumes and sometimes even the campiest showgirls in town” (This Week in Texas, 1990). Miss Camp America’s community involvement included organizations such as Star Nite ‘90, Stone Soups, AIDS Foundation Houston, the Gay Switchboard of Houston, and the Montrose Clinic.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-mca.html
Miss Camp America. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-mca.html
Wagon Wheel
Houston drag bars
The Wagon Wheel was a female impersonation club that opened in 1936. This was one of the first Houston clubs that featured female impersonators. A fire destroyed the club in 1938, which was suspected to be arson.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/wagonwheel.html
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Red Room
Houston drag bars
The Red Room opened in December 1965 and was early prominent bar in Houston. The bar hosted amateur night for female impersonators on Tuesdays. They hosted prominent female impersonators such as Tiffany Jones. The Red Room closed in December 1974.