This year marks the 60th Anniversary of a very important event in queer history, which so needs celebration.  Julius Bar has been open at 159 West 10^th Street and Waverly Place in NY since the 1860s, although not always as a gay or gay-friendly bar ….its actually just around the block from the Stonewall Inn.  However, drinking while gay in the early 1960s was often considered illegal.

Back in those days, every bar or restaurant could be raided or closed for being “disorderly.” What was disorderly? According to the police, one man buying another man a drink, or chatting him up in a flirtatious manner, was grounds to be charged with disorderly conduct in New York City.  So three men from the New York City chapter of the Mattachine Society, a “homophile” organization, decided to challenge this interpretation of the law in court. (Before Stonewall, most pro-gay groups preferred the neutral word “homophile” to the term homosexual. Homosexuality was defined as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association until 1973.) But they needed a case.

On April 21, 1966 Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell and John Timmons, and a few reporters walked through the door to engage in a “sip-in.” This was inspired by earlier “sit-ins” to desegregate diners in the American South.  The bartender wanted no trouble.  So Leitsch asked him to cooperate, promising that he would help with the bar’s legal issues.  When Leitsch revealed that he and his friends were homosexuals, the bartender played his part and covered the glasses with his hand and refused to serve them, saying, “I think it’s against the law.”

The New York Times ran a story entitled, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars.” The Mattachine Society had the court case it wanted.

In 1967, the courts ruled that indecent behavior had to be more than same-sex “cruising,” kissing or touching. Gays could legally drink in a bar. But getting a liquor license for an openly gay bar was still tough, which is why Mafia-owned bars like the Stonewall Inn still existed in 1969.

On April 21, 2016, Julius’ was added to the National Register of Historic Places. At the time, it was one of only ten historic places on the National Register honoring any aspect of LGB history. 

Now on Tuesday, April 21, there is a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the 1966 Sip-In at Julius’ Bar. in Deadbeats. Providence, which they believe will be part of a nationwide activation to honor the first staged, real-time action calling attention to police entrapment and surveillance at LGBTQ bars. It will be from 6–8 pm, or if you’re not local, you should celebrate at a participating bar, community space, or gathering place near you. The whole event is organized by the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, which will be at Julius that evening.