NEWS - November 22, 2023
Gay bar Montmartre closes its doors after 40 years
The well-known gay café Montmartre in Halvemaansteeg will close its doors on December 4. This means that one of the last places dissappears from the once popular gay nightlife area along the Amstel.
The impending closure of Montmartre was announced yesterday via a post on Facebook. It was also announced that the last weekend, from December 1 to 3, will be a final festive celebration of the past 40 years.
Le Montmartre de Paris, as the place is still officially called, opened in April 1983 as the successor to straight café Chez Tony. A special feature are the wall paintings that were painted around 1968 by the then well-known graphic designer Eppo Doeve and which can also be seen in the virtual tour below:
A virtual tour of gay café Montmartre
At the time, Montmartre was the second gay café in Halvemaansteeg, after Manfred Langer opened his famous café Chez Manfred there in 1978. In 1994, the Entre Nous became a gay bar as well, which made Halvemaansteeg such a popular gay nightlife street that during Gay Pride the street parties were initially held here first and only later along the Amstel.
Montmartre has always been closely involved in these Pride celebrations. For example, from 2006 to 2008, owner Hugo Braakhuis was chairman of Pride organizer ProGay and current owner Oscar Rookhuijzen first organized the Pride celebrations along the Amstel and then those on Rembrandtplein.
Originally, the largest concentration of gay bars was located along the Amstel and in the adjacent streets, but from 2010 onwards they disappeared one by one: first the Wapen van London, then Entre Nous, the Hotspot, the Queers Café and finally bar FAME. Although the Amstel Taveerne still exists under the name Amstel Fifty Four, it attracts little gay audience anymore.
However, it was recently announced that Amstel 178 stays a gay place: a "naked late-night bar for men" called Free Willie will open there at the beginning of December. In addition, Club Raum also hopes to quickly obtain a permit for an underground queer club near Sloterdijk train station.
As much as the closure of a place like Montmartre is a loss, the total number of LGBT venues in Amsterdam remains more than at the same level.
More news about Amsterdam gay & lesbian nightlife:
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September 8, 2024:
June 24, 2024:
April 22, 2024:
December 15, 2023:
November 22, 2023:
April 11, 2023:
February 21, 2023:
July 15, 2022:
February 19, 2022:
February 13, 2022:
April 21, 2021:
October 14, 2020:
News about Reguliersdwarsstraat: Reguliers.net
September 13, 2024:
September 8, 2024:
June 24, 2024:
April 22, 2024:
December 15, 2023:
November 22, 2023:
April 11, 2023:
February 21, 2023:
July 15, 2022:
February 19, 2022:
February 13, 2022:
April 21, 2021:
October 14, 2020:
News about Reguliersdwarsstraat: Reguliers.net
Links
Useful links about gay nightlife in:
- Amsterdam
- The Netherlands
- The rest of the world
+ Various LGBT links
Gay nightlife in Amsterdam
Streets:
- Reguliersdwarsstraat
- Warmoesstraat
Guides:
- Gay Amsterdam
- Nighttours: Amsterdam
- Iamsterdam: LGBTQI+ bars and cafes
- Patroc: Amsterdam
- Queer Europe: Amsterdam
- Gay Cities: Amsterdam
- Pinksider: Amsterdam
- The Gay Passport: Amsterdam
- Queer In The World: Amsterdam
- Gay Out: Amsterdam
- Travel Gay: Amsterdam
- GayTravelr: Amsterdam
Calendars:
- Gay Amsterdam: Agenda
- Tom of Amsterdam
- Gay Parties Amsterdam
- GoGiGi
Prides:
- Pride Amsterdam
- Queer Amsterdam
- Leather & Fetish Pride
- Black Pride
Tickets:
- Gaygo Tickets
Tours:
- LGBT Gay Tours Amsterdam
Photos:
- LGBT nightlife in Amsterdam
- Gay Businesses 1983-2010
Memorabilia:
- Amsterdam Gay & Lesbian Nightlife
History:
- Graveyard of LGBTQI pubs & clubs
Gay nightlife in The Netherlands
Guides:
- Nighttours: Netherlands
- Queer In The World: Netherlands
- GayTravelr: Netherlands
- Saunas4men: Netherlands
Calendars:
- Nighttours: Netherlands
Photos:
- Wikimedia: LGBT Nightlife
Memorabilia:
- Dutch Gay & Lesbian Nightlife
- LGBTQI+ Buttons
History:
- LGBT history in the Netherlands
Gay nightlife in the rest
of the world
of the world
Cities:
- Queer Berlin
Streets & Villages:
- Canal Street, Manchester
- Le Marais, Paris
- Hell's Kitchen, New York City
- Church-Wellesley, Toronto
- Village, Montréal
Guides:
- GayBars.eu
- Gay Travel Guide Europe
- Queer Europe
- Spartacus Intern. Gay Guide
- Gay Cities
- Pinksider
- The Gay Passport
- Queer In The World
- Gay Out
- GayTravel
- Travel Gay
- GayTravelr
- Saunas4men
Calendars:
- Gay Events Belgium
- IGLTA: Pride Calendar
- Gay Pride Calendar
- GayPrides.com
- GoGiGi
Photos:
- Wikimedia: Gay bars
Buttons:
- LGBTQI+ Buttons
T-Shirts:
- Wearing Gay History
- Throwback Gay Bar T-Shirts
History:
- Wikipedia: Gay bar
- Brussels Almanack Dykes
- Molly Houses in London
- Lost LGBT Scene Project
- England: Pride of Place
- OUTgoing New York City
- San Francisco Gay History
- The Lesbian Bar Project
- GayBarchives
Various LGBT links
LGBT news:
- Gay News
- Queer.de · Schwulissimo
- PinkNews · Advocate
Podcast:
- Making Gay History
Museums:
- Schwules Museum, Berlin
- Queer Britain, London
- American LGBTQ+ Museum, NYC
- GLBT Historical Society, SF
Archives:
- IHLIA LGBT Heritage
- Fonds Suzan Daniel
- Centrum Schwule Geschichte
- ONE Gay & Lesbian Archives
Linkpartners:
- Amsterdam Masseur Homo/Hetero?