The Gay scene had long been happening in Seattle. The first Gay-owned-and-operated establishment, The Garden of Allah (1946—56), opened at 1299 First Ave., now the top of Harbor Steps. There, in the basement of the faded Victorian-era Arlington Hotel, owners Frank Reid and Fred Coleman (soon replaced by Frank Carlburg) created a cabaret featuring female impersonation.

As told by Isaac Monroe, "My first impression of the Garden was of a blast of noise and smoke. The room was jammed. The place was in an absolute uproar, and everyone was screaming with laughter." Bill Parkin related, "There were two shows a night on weekdays and three shows on Fridays and Saturdays. The show would last 45 minutes. There were dark blue and pink fluorescent bulbs behind sconces, so the Garden was filled with a soft, subdued light — very, very seductive."

The venue followed in the footsteps of The Spinning Wheel (1934—50), a vaudeville theater featuring elaborate shows with an all-male cast of female impersonators, which was also partly owned by Fred Coleman, located in a basement at Second Avenue and Union Street (now home to Octave 9 on street level in the northwest corner of Benaroya Hall).

The Hub (1958—66) opened at 421 Denny Way, which is currently occupied by Zeeks Pizza across from KOMO Plaza. It was the first Lesbian bar in Seattle and was filled with a combination of early women athletes and older out women.

With The Mocambo (1951—78) veering Gay in the mid-1950s, Seattle's Gay scene solidly shifted to Pioneer Square, long established as the center of Seattle's rowdier nightlife. Several establishments had long welcomed gay people, including The Casino (1930—64) and the Double Header (1934—2015), although neither were aimed at or owned by the Gay community.

A very popular gay bar and restaurant, The Mocambo was the "go-to" bar for men, located at the corner of Yesler and Second Avenue S. The 1976 Gay Community Center Guide described it as having "roomy facilities yet an intimate atmosphere decorated with warm color schemes and accented with subdued lighting." It is believed to be the first Gay-identified bar in Seattle to legally serve hard liquor aboveground.

It also included a restaurant that catered to all stripes. The private dining room played host to the founding of many of Seattle's most influential Gay organizations, including the Queen City Business Guild (which later morphed into the Greater Seattle Business Association), the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle, the United Ebony Council, and the Dorian Society (later the Dorian Group).

Bill Parkin, a dishwasher at The Mocambo, recounts that "The Mo was a mixed crowd until 1955, when it became mostly Gay — except for daytime, when office workers, courthouse workers, lawyers, and judges came in for lunch," most likely with no awareness of the nighttime clientele.

Bob Bedord, aka B.B., owned "The Mo" from 1969 to 1978 and was a pivotal figure in the development of Gay Seattle. He provided the space for groups to form, opened some of the other main Gay taverns in Seattle, helped other bars and organizations (including Shelly's Leg (1974—77) and the SGN) survive lean periods, and played a pivotal role in ending the long-running Seattle payoff system involving both police and Washington State Liquor Control Board agents.

Women's bars
Not far away was Seattle's premier woman's bar, The Silver Slipper (1968—81), owned by Ren Miller. Over its lifetime, it was the place for women to go. And its ads said it: "Girls! Girls! Girls!"

It was described thus by G. Mary Scott: "The Slipper was a women's bar. It was a Lesbian bar. Occasionally a man would come in, but he would be a Gay man. He was kind of an oddity, you know? He was there because maybe he knew one of the bartenders, or maybe he was a friend or a brother of a customer there that night, or whatever."

She continued: "It seems to me that the older women just kind of disappeared. I found out later that a lot of them just simply were overwhelmed. They just couldn't understand or cope with this big influx of feminist, out, wild Lesbians." The new crowd "didn't look or act like Lesbians, and they weren't into butch and femme."

Shirley Maser, a long-time member of Seattle's women's scene, decided to open a new bar, The Crescent (1974—present), one of the first two Gay bars that opened on Capitol Hill. Maser said, "The Slipper is nice, but I felt it attracted a younger crowd, and I wanted a place where older women would feel comfortable."

In the 1940s, Maser was one of the first women in the Northwest to become a motorcycle aficionado as well as an out athlete. She was a member of the all-female national club The Motor Maids of America, as well as the only out member of Seattle's Queen City Motorcycle Club. She turned a neighborhood tavern into an women's bar, but after three exhausting years, she sold it to George Vanderpool and Jim Feigley; the latter owned it until 2008. Since then its ownership has transitioned several times, but it continues to operate at the same location to this day.

More from 1974
Back to Pioneer Square and 1974.

After drinks at The Mocambo, you could wander over to The Golden Horseshoe (1961—76), The Doll House (1970—75), The Trojan Shield (1972—75), The Greek Torch (1970—76), The 611 (1962—2003), Don's Place (1969—75), Gatsby's (1973—74), or the fabulous new disco everyone was talking about, Shelly's Leg — all within easy walking distance. No taxi, Uber, or scooter needed!

If you wanted to venture out of Pioneer Square, you could walk up Third Avenue to Seattle's first leather bar, The 922 (1969—75), or walk further still and go to the original "Pike/Pine" area located between Eights and Ninth to visit Spag's Tavern (1965—87) or Mike's Pike Street Tavern (1970—77).

With a longer hike up the hill, you could venture on to the only other Gay bar on Capitol Hill, the new Eleven Eleven (1974—77).

Still had energy and looking for fun? You could go to one of several after-hours "private "clubs: the 107 (1971—79) or the Chicken Coop (1971—74) in Pioneer Square or Zach's Key (1972—74) in what is now called Belltown.

1974: What a year! What a great Queer scene!

With Gay liberation starting to take hold, the Seattle Queer community was ready to explode into the second half of the '70s!