While you can’t trust police blotters and morality crusaders to give an accurate depiction of what The Slide was truly like, an attempt to peel back the hyperbole provides a sight that would rival the bawdiest gay bars of Hell’s Kitchen. We know of its existence primarily due to the pearl-clutching reaction of moral-minded New Yorkers.
But you may not have had to look very far in the early 1890s to locate The Slide (at 157 Bleecker Street), once New York’s most notorious and flamboyant bars. Gay and lesbian life in 19th century America meant reading between the lines, latching on to known code words to locate a community buried deep under the mainstream. You can check out the entire digital issue here or pick up pretty much anywhere in the West Village, Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen this weekend!
This article originally appeared in the 2015 NYC Pride Guide.
