Recently, the Metro Historical Commission unveiled a plaque recognizing The Jungle and Juanita’s as the city’s first gay bars. “It was a rough time, but it was also a wonderful time for people like myself who were coming out.” “They both gave our circle a place to go where you felt safe,” Peek says. In the 1960s, at a time when same-sex relationships were considered unlawful, it was a welcoming place where gay men in Nashville could hang out together. It’s also where he met his partner, Joe, 47 years ago.
It was the first bar Jerry Peek ever went into. Next door, Juanita’s, a skinny, shotgun-style joint with only a handful of tables, served as The Jungle’s sister establishment. The restaurant had a straight clientele during the day for lunch - but in the evening, it morphed into a gay bar. (AP) - On a wild stretch of Commerce Street, next door to Ira’s Barber Shop and just blocks from Ryman Auditorium, stood a pair of unique bars surrounded by a slew of beer dives.ĭimly lit and filled with cigarette smoke, The Jungle was a one-room club with a grill where cocktails were mixed and a piano often inspired a round of singalongs. 21, 2018, the Metro Historical Commission is unveiling a plaque recognizing it and Juanita's as Nashville's first gay bars.
12, 1954, photo shows The Jungle, one of Commerce Street's better-known bars, in Nashville, Tenn.
