Paradise gay bar cambridge ma

Stephen Plouffe and David Swan sat in a corner of the Paradise nightclub, the site of their first meeting on Sept. On Saturday, the Lexington couple visited the Cambridge gay bar one last time, joining a large crowd for a farewell celebration. Cambridge witnessed the end of an era on Saturday, Sept.

A customer appreciation night followed on Sunday. Rafferty told the Chronicle that McCarthy decided to sell the building to Novartis Pharmaceuticals for personal and business reasons, stressing that this was not a situation where the nightclub was being forced out. For the past 10 years, Novartis has been a tenant in the building, near its campus.

They offered refuges for queer people, he said. The s started to see shifts within the LGBTQ community, Krone said, as political groups, sporting clubs and other activities offered alternatives for socializing. Women at times were discouraged from visiting gay bars, and people of color could be excluded as well.

Along with more options for social activities, Krone said the internet and social media have changed how the LGBTQ community connects. Also, younger generations go to bars together regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

End of an era

Krone, who is 62 and first visited Paradise in the early s, said this did not happen when he was younger. For Krone, society has not reached a point where the LGBTQ community no longer needs their own spaces, though he understands a traditional gay bar like Paradise may no longer appeal to younger generations.

Instead, he said younger generations may be making healthier choices in the places they go to socialize. On Saturday, both younger and older generations went to Paradise one last time. The lower level had more dancers, pulsing music, strobe lights and an even larger crowd. For John McDonald Jr.

He first visited Paradise about 20 years ago. Members of the younger generation also lamented the closing of Paradise. Ryan Sweeney, 24, of Cambridge, said he would visit the bar about once a month. He said he was sad, but not surprised, it was closing, leaving Cambridge with no gay bars. He appreciated the atmosphere at Paradise.

Plouffe, who was returning to the place where he met Swan 28 years ago, said he had mixed emotions about the end of Paradise. He described the patrons as a close family, bringing together a diverse crowd of older and younger people. As midnight approached, the line to enter Paradise stretched from the entrance on Albany Street around the corner to Massachusetts Avenue, more than halfway down the block.

Robert Duffley, 27, agreed. He decided to wait.