Bars & clubs / Warrendale (West Side)
Hayloft Saloon
A former gay bar on Greenfield Road in Warrendale on Detroit's west side (1980–2024), with karaoke and a leather and country-western crowd.
- 8070 Greenfield Rd, Detroit, MI 48228
- (313) 581-8913
- 21+
DETROIT + MICHIGAN / LGBTQ+ / ¼
LGBTQ+ Detroit & Michigan
Bars, clubs, drag nights, saunas, community centers, Pride festivals and landmarks of queer history, with addresses, phone numbers and sources, all in one place.
- places & communities
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- closed legends
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Find your place
60 places & communities · 30 archive entries
Clear filters ↺Pride & festivals / Hamtramck
Trans Stellar Film Festival
A one-day festival of films by queer, trans and nonbinary filmmakers, founded in 2017; it said goodbye in 2023 after its sixth edition in 2022.
- October (last known edition: 2021)
- 2320 Caniff St. (Planet Ant Theatre, 2021), Hamtramck, MI
Food, coffee & shops / Midtown
Hugh
Midtown housewares, barware and gift shop with a mid-century 'Mad Men' look, listed as LGBTQ-owned; it ran on Cass Avenue from 2012 to 2022.
- 4240 Cass Ave., Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / New Center / Milwaukee Junction
Woodward Bar & Grill
For decades Detroit's oldest gay bar and a home for Black LGBTQ+ Detroiters, open from 1954 until a fire destroyed it in 2022.
- 6426 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202
- (313) 872-0166
Bars & clubs / Northeast Detroit (7 Mile, east of Conant)
Club Gold Coast
One of Detroit's longest-running gay clubs, known for nightly male dancer shows and drag pageants, open from 1973 to 2020.
- 2971 E. Seven Mile Rd., Detroit, MI 48234
- (313) 366-6135
Saunas & men's clubs / Northwest Detroit (8 Mile)
TNT Health Club
Detroit's longest-running gay bathhouse, a private men's club on West 8 Mile from 1979 until it closed in 2018.
- 13333 W. 8 Mile Rd., Detroit, MI 48235
Leather, bear & cruising bars / Southwest Detroit
R&R Saloon
Laid-back Southwest Detroit leather bar, home of the Mr. Leather Detroit contest and the Macho City disco night until 2014.
- 7330 Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI 48210
- (313) 849-2751
Bars & clubs / Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
The Birdcage
A show bar at 6640 E. 8 Mile Road that followed the Rainbow Room and crowned its own drag pageant titleholders; it closed in 2013.
- 6640 E. 8 Mile Rd., Detroit, MI 48234
Bars & clubs / Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
The Rainbow Room
East 8 Mile show bar that was a major Detroit drag pageant venue from 1996 to 2012.
- 6640 E. 8 Mile Rd., Detroit, MI 48234
- (313) 891-1020
Bars & clubs / West Side (Greenfield & Joy)
Backstreet
Legendary West Side gay disco opened in 1979, which booked stars like Sylvester and drew up to 1,200 dancers on Saturdays.
- 15606 Joy Rd., Detroit, MI 48228
- (313) 838-6699
Bars & clubs / West side
Diamond Jim's Saloon
West-side Detroit saloon (2001–2010) that drew bears, cowboys and the leather crowd and raised money for gay rodeo.
- 19650 W Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48228
Leather, bear & cruising bars / Near Trumbull (North Corktown/New Center edge)
The Detroit Eagle / The Interchange
For more than three decades the heart of Detroit's leather scene on Holden Street, first as The Interchange, then as the Detroit Eagle, until 2010.
- 1501 Holden St, Detroit, MI
History & landmarks / Detroit
Triangle Foundation
Michigan's pioneering LGBTQ+ anti-violence and advocacy group (1991–2010), a predecessor of Equality Michigan.
- Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / Cass Corridor (Cass at Charlotte St)
The Gold Dollar
A former Cass Corridor bar on Cass Avenue (1930s–2001): for decades one of Detroit's best-known drag-show bars, then the cradle of the city's garage-rock revival from 1996 to 2001.
- 3129 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / McNichols (Six Mile) near Woodward, Palmer Park area
Club Fever
A former gay after-hours dance club on McNichols Road near Woodward in the Palmer Park area (ca. 1976–1983), known around 1977 as Club Fever.
- W. McNichols Rd near Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
History & landmarks / Detroit
Detroit Gay Liberation Front and The Gay Liberator
Detroit's post-Stonewall Gay Liberation Front (1970) and its journal, The Gay Liberator, which ran until 1976.
- Detroit, MI
History & landmarks / Detroit
Christopher Street Detroit '72 – Michigan's First Pride
Michigan's first Pride, held in June 1972 with dances, picnics, films, a drag pageant and a march and rally in Detroit.
- Detroit, MI
History & landmarks / West Side (site demolished)
Ruth Ellis and the “Gay Spot”
The West Side home of Ruth Ellis and her partner Babe Franklin, a refuge for Black gay and lesbian Detroiters until it was demolished in 1971.
- Detroit, MI
Saunas & men's clubs / East Side
Akron Health Club
Historic East Side gay men's bathhouse, run by the owners of Todd's Sway Lounge; one of five in Detroit in 1979.
- Detroit, MI
Saunas & men's clubs / Detroit
Club Baths
Detroit outpost of the Club Baths chain, one of five gay men's bathhouses in the city in 1979; closed by the mid-1980s.
- Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / West Side
Club DG
West Side Detroit dance club listed around 2009–2010 as a gay techno venue open on weekends.
- 10001 Hubbell St., Detroit, MI 48227
- (313) 273-8941
Bars & clubs / Far East Side
Club Xhale
A Black gay club on Detroit's far east side that opened on New Year's Day 2006, with themed weekly nights, including one for women; it has since closed.
- Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / Palmer Park / 7 Mile & Woodward
Heaven
Legendary 1980s after-hours gay club on Woodward, remembered as a birthplace of Detroit's queer house-music scene.
- 19106 Woodward Ave. (upstairs from The Gas Station bar), Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / Palmer Park area (Woodward)
Numbers
Late-night after-hours club on Woodward near Palmer Park, with a light show and game room, closed after a TV investigation.
- 17518 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI
- (313) 869-9524
Saunas & men's clubs / Downtown (Grand Circus Park area)
Park Avenue Baths
Historic downtown gay men's bathhouse on Park Avenue near Grand Circus Park; one of five in Detroit in 1979.
- Detroit, MI
Saunas & men's clubs / Near the Michigan State Fairgrounds (State Fair Ave area)
Prudential Health Club
Historic gay men's bathhouse near the old Michigan State Fairgrounds, one of five in Detroit in 1979; closed by the mid-1980s.
- Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / Livernois / University District (blocks from the University of Detroit)
The Chessmate
A former coffeehouse and music venue on Livernois near Six Mile Road (from 1963), one of Detroit's key folk rooms and later a gay after-hours club.
- Livernois Ave near W. Six Mile Rd (McNichols), Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / Downtown
Times Square
Downtown dance club with several lives as a gay venue, including 2006's Wet and Wild Wednesdays for the African American LGBT community.
- 1431 Times Square, Detroit, MI
Bars & clubs / East Side (7 Mile)
Todd's Sway Lounge & Todd's Other Side
1980s punk and new-wave bar complex on East 7 Mile that welcomed gay patrons and had its own drag pageant title.
- 8139 E. Seven Mile Rd., Detroit, MI
Saunas & men's clubs / Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
Triple Bonus Health Club
A men's bathhouse on East 8 Mile, formerly Tranquility Spa, reported in the late 2000s; it has since closed.
- 6700 E. 8 Mile Rd., Detroit, MI
- (313) 369-2542
Addresses, phone numbers and hours come from public sources, and every entry shows its check date. Nightlife venues change schedules often, so confirm on the venue's own website or social page before you go. Photos and logos come from the venues' official websites, archived websites or openly licensed collections; each entry names its exact source.
Proud all year
Pride & festival calendar
May 1
June 20
- Berkley PrideBerkley
- CommUNITY PrideDouglas
- Downriver PrideWyandotte
- Kalamazoo PrideKalamazoo
- Keweenaw Pridefest / Keweenaw QueersHoughton
- Lansing PrideLansing
- Livonia PrideLivonia
- Motor City PrideDetroit
- Muskegon PrideMuskegon
- Arts & PrideMadison Heights
- Canton Pride OUTsideCanton
- Detroit Leather WeekendFerndale
- Grand Rapids Pride FestivalGrand Rapids
- Holland Pride FestivalHolland
- Juneteenth JamzDetroit
- Royal Oak Family PrideRoyal Oak
- UP Pride FestMarquette
- Village Pride DetroitDetroit
- Warren City PrideWarren
- Ypsi PrideYpsilanti
July 2
- Hotter Than JulyDetroit
- Pride Royal OakRoyal Oak
August 7
- Ferndale PrideFerndale
- Macomb County PrideMount Clemens
- Ann Arbor PrideAnn Arbor
- Hazel Park PrideHazel Park
- Kalamazoo Black PrideKalamazoo
- Pride in PontiacPontiac
- Transgender Pride in the ParkFerndale
September 5
- Straits Pride / Mackinac Island Pride FestivalMackinac Island
- Up North PrideTraverse City
- AIDS Walk DetroitRoyal Oak
- Flint PrideFlint
- Lenawee PrideAdrian
October 2
- Fall Into The Dunes WeekendDouglas
- Transgender Health FairFerndale
November 1
Time machine
Remembered: closed landmarks
These places are gone, but they shaped queer life in Detroit and Michigan. We keep their entries as an archive, with the years they opened and closed.
- H1980–2024Hayloft SaloonBars & clubs · Warrendale (West Side)
- T2017–2023Trans Stellar Film FestivalPride & festivals · Hamtramck
- H2012–2022HughFood, coffee & shops · Midtown
- W1954–2022Woodward Bar & GrillBars & clubs · New Center / Milwaukee Junction
- C1973–2020Club Gold CoastBars & clubs · Northeast Detroit (7 Mile, east of Conant)
- T1979–2018TNT Health ClubSaunas & men's clubs · Northwest Detroit (8 Mile)
- R2014R&R SaloonLeather, bear & cruising bars · Southwest Detroit
- B2013The BirdcageBars & clubs · Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
- R1996–2012The Rainbow RoomBars & clubs · Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
- B1979–2011BackstreetBars & clubs · West Side (Greenfield & Joy)
- D2001–2010Diamond Jim's SaloonBars & clubs · West side
- D2010The Detroit Eagle / The InterchangeLeather, bear & cruising bars · Near Trumbull (North Corktown/New Center edge)
- T1991–2010Triangle FoundationHistory & landmarks · Detroit
- G1996–2001The Gold DollarBars & clubs · Cass Corridor (Cass at Charlotte St)
- C1976–1983Club FeverBars & clubs · McNichols (Six Mile) near Woodward, Palmer Park area
- D1970–1976Detroit Gay Liberation Front and The Gay LiberatorHistory & landmarks · Detroit
- C1972–1972Christopher Street Detroit '72 – Michigan's First PrideHistory & landmarks · Detroit
- R1937–1971Ruth Ellis and the “Gay Spot”History & landmarks · West Side (site demolished)
- A?Akron Health ClubSaunas & men's clubs · East Side
- C?Club BathsSaunas & men's clubs · Detroit
- C?Club DGBars & clubs · West Side
- C2006–Club XhaleBars & clubs · Far East Side
- H?HeavenBars & clubs · Palmer Park / 7 Mile & Woodward
- N?NumbersBars & clubs · Palmer Park area (Woodward)
- P?Park Avenue BathsSaunas & men's clubs · Downtown (Grand Circus Park area)
- P?Prudential Health ClubSaunas & men's clubs · Near the Michigan State Fairgrounds (State Fair Ave area)
- C1963–The ChessmateBars & clubs · Livernois / University District (blocks from the University of Detroit)
- T?Times SquareBars & clubs · Downtown
- T?Todd's Sway Lounge & Todd's Other SideBars & clubs · East Side (7 Mile)
- T?Triple Bonus Health ClubSaunas & men's clubs · Northeast Detroit (8 Mile)
Before you go
Good to know
Michigan serves alcohol from age 21, and almost every bar checks photo ID at the door. Visitors from abroad should carry a passport, the ID accepted everywhere.
Michigan bars stop serving alcohol by 2 a.m. Most clubs are liveliest Thursday to Saturday; drag nights and theme parties vary by venue.
Several Detroit and Ferndale community organizations offer free or low-cost HIV and STI testing and PrEP advice. Find them under Health & testing.
Use a taxi or rideshare between venues at night. Saunas and men's clubs admit adults only, often with a membership and photo ID.
Save the plan. Share the moment.
