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Knox and the western half of Henderson are very pedestrian friendly. Henderson hot spots now line Henderson all the way from Hwy 75 to Ross. The Henderson side lagged behind its Knox half, but is now just as trendy, with a more low-key, relaxed vibe. The Knox side west of Hwy 75 is the more upscale half, with many restaurants and upscale home decor shops.
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'"Knox/Henderson" is a split personality urban neighborhood worthy of its own designation. Immediately north of the official Uptown public improvement district, and sometimes included as part of it, is the Knox Park neighborhood, which includes restaurants and a plethora of upscale home furnishings shops. It extends from Woodall Rodgers Freeway on the south to the Park Cities on the north, and from Central Expressway on the east to the Katy Trail on the west. Uptown is a playground and shopping ground for the beautiful people of the city. Formerly a mostly industrial area, the Design District west of Oak Lawn is a growing residential area. Oaklawn also includes the LGBT-friendly district of Cedar Springs. It is made up of dense, urban neighborhoods of mostly townhomes, apartments, and condos. It includes established Turtle Creek high-rise living and a multitude of parks and restaurants. The area located north of downtown and south of the Park Cities and Northwest Dallas is generally known as Oak Lawn in the western neighborhoods and Uptown in the eastern neighborhoods. Oak Lawn and Uptown (Turtle Creek, Design District, Victory Park, West Village, Cedar Springs).Downtown is surrounded by highways (Woodall Rodgers Freeway to the north, Central Expressway to the east, I-30 to the south, and I-35E to the west). Downtown (West End Historic District, Reunion District, Government District, Convention Center District, Arts District, City Center District, Main Street District, Farmers Market District)ĭowntown is home to a burgeoning residential and nightlife district.But there were still a lot of gay bars around, I just didn't frequent them. Dallas was mostly about nightclubs that were cool, trendy and "mixed" but clearly very gay (like Starck club), which is where I tended to go. Later in the 80's I graduated to other bars and clubs. Oh my eyes! It's like I was on another planet! I'll never forget that night either. Going to my first lesbian bar (in Dallas, called Sue Ellen's) at that same time in high school was actually more surreal and eye-opening, dragged there by the same group of school friends. It was separate from the "gay strip" in Dallas which made it kind of unique. But clearly easy to get in if you were underage. The Frat House had been there a long time and I think existed for a while after. Almost all Dallas gay bars had large patios because "gay BBQ night" parties were a thing. Went well with the disco lights on the ceiling. The Frat House was a smallish bar/disco with the bar in the center and the walls painted trompe-l'œil like rows of ivy league club book shelves. I saw a few other friends from high school I'd always suspected were gay, and they spied me, which was awkward but I thought, "Oh well." I'll never forget that whole night. I'm amazed they didn't kick us out right then (probably because we were 16 year old boys!) Kind of a weird vibe for my first gay bar experience. At some point the bouncer came over to us and told us we had to calm down or they'd make us leave. So I wasn't alone and nervous but was really uh… alert to my surroundings? We had cocktails which I wasn't used to drinking and all started acting really crazy, which included loudly breaking a glass on the patio. We were all 16, the drinking age at that time in TX was 18. I went with gay friends (boy and girls, we were all 'new wavers') from high school who already knew the place and the doorman and could get in. The Frat House in Dallas, TX, probably 1984. I think it's still kicking.or at least nudging a bit. I don't know if that was by design or just happenstance.Īnd, of course, Parliament House in Orlando. The Cove was replaced with a sewage processing plant. The Cove was good once the slut stage had taken hold, and it was all about the sex. The Armory was good for being young and hot and pickups. The ones I really miss are The Armory and The Cove in Atlanta. There was also a guy named Monroe in Jax, FL who opened up lots of very nice bars, though they never stayed open for very long. The first one I regularly frequented was Stone Castle in Greenville, SC. My brother died the day I got back home, so that trip is very entrenched in my memory. I could not believe there were that many gay guys in the world as I saw on that dance floor. My smalltown bf refused to dance with me because it looked odd to him.