Hey, there! Log in / Register
Is one Fenway bar haunted?
By adamg on Sat, 02/10/2018 - 11:52am
New England Folklore takes a look at the stories surrounding several gay or formerly gay bars in Boston, including the ones that used to be where the Baseball Tavern now is on Boylston Street - which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of the mobster who once owned the building.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Comments
1270
The link doesn't lead to the story so I googled it. Here it is:
http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/search?q=1270
I remember the 1270, or "The Twelve" as it was always referred to, very well. It was THE gay bar in the 70s and 80s. Three floors packed to the gills, and later they added a roof bar open in the summer, also packed. It is fondly (or not so fondly) remembered by gay men of a certain age. It was the bar to "come out at", among other things, which shows just how much society has changed since then. People used to "come out at" bars and no one ever, I mean EVER mentioned same sex marriage. Basically t just wasn't part of gay male consciousness until the late 90s. By the way, all the thousands of times I went to The Twelve I never heard the ghost story.
I have to differ...
Chaps was the gay bar in the 70's and 80's.
How far back are you going?
Are you talking about the ORIGINAL Chaps in the 70s when it was still sawdust on the floor and ceiling fans? I believe they only had a beer and wine license at that point. Now THAT place was cool. It was sort of connected by a wall to a somewhat forgotten gay bar called Styx. Later on they remodeled and disco-fied Chaps into a big dance place. I wasn't as crazy about that. It just wasn't as funky. Both iterations were directly behind the Copley Square library. Anyway, it all eventually got torn down and luxury housing when up in it's place. Where have I heard that story before?
The later version...
I only knew it from the many times driving Evan. It was wild. I also spent more time than I care to admit at the Napoleon Club being sexually harassed by a client that was a bigwig at one of the local swanky hotels. Good times!!
You're both right!
1270 was a lot of fun.The original Chaps and Styx (or Chapstyx) was a lot of fun. And the replacement Chaps was a lot of fun too. It was all good.
What I appreciated most about the 12
Was that it was populated by both men and women. Never understood the whole real or perceived animosity thing between gay guys and lesbians and the local bar community really did nothing to foster inclusive environments other than 1270 and RCC in Randolph..
Gender-Segregated Gay Bars
"the local bar community really did nothing to foster inclusive environments "
You're not kidding. In the 70s there were women's bars like Saints in the financial district that had a strict "no men allowed" policy and a fearsome looking female bouncer to make sure it was enforced. The nearby Somewhere, also a women's bar, was somewhat more lenient.
correct url
https://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2018/02/haunted-gay-bars-of-bost...
Ghost of Liberace
Was in Cambridge for a show in the early 90’s. Stopped at a bar on Mass Ave before the bridge for last call.
Couldn’t see inside the nondescript place and knew it would probably be an adventure. Gay bar or biker or something.
It was a gay bar and I wasn’t that surprised but my friend was.
I said, “Jeesh, kid, you look like you saw the ghost of Liberace.”
Good times. Had fun that night. Girls we were with didn’t get as friendly of a reception but oh well...
The Paradise
That was the Paradise. It's still in existence, one of the very few gay bars that remains in Boston/Cambridge these changing days. Not to be confused with the Paradise rock music club on Comm.Ave.
Thanks for the info!
I still go to an occasional show at the Middle East. I'll have to pop back in for old times sakes. Fun place.
Should chnge name...
Paradise
That would have been the Paradise, I am pretty sure.
Mixed men & women
I spent a lovely evening at the 1270 circa 1980 with my gay brother, of Blessed Memory. There were more gay men than gay women, but I got lucky & had a wild one night fling which I remember well. The 1270 was a fun bar with several floors to dance or just hang out. It was a gay place you could also bring your straight friends to; not surprising that a ghost would want to dwell there, especially if it had been his. And it was there a long time, I think. Every time I drive down that block of Boylston toward the Fens, which I do frequently, I internally nod to it.
I read the story at the link and also remember knowing about the bar called the Ramrod Room, but that was a men-only situation. I either knew or assumed there was a backroom...
Other haunted spots..
The former 119 Merrimac which was a dive and now Boxer hotel
Sporters on Cambridge St, now The Hill Tavern, when it had no windows and wtf were they thinking by having a bathtub inthere toward the end?
Haymarket, now site of Ritz, where u could meet hustlers, business guys, married suburban dad's and others while groovng to Taylor Dane and Rick Astley
Playland around the corner of Haymarket which was literally populated with ghosts of Christmas past
Napolean in Bay Village which was a gathering spot for ghosts, ghost admirers or "admirers" who could be had for $$
And the list goes on....
I loved the Napoleon Room...
The bust on the piano when you walked in and you're right, an endless supply of old queens and hungry twinks. We referred to it in the limo biz as "The Wrinkle Room".
Everybody called it that
Everybody called Napoleon's "the wrinkle room".