http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2012/04/silver-lake-celebrates-its-gay-past-but-what-about-the-future/#more-32952
Silver Lake honored former resident Harry Hay – considered by some to be the father of the gay rights movement – earlier this month with the naming of The Mattachine Steps on Cove Avenue. Hay was the founder of the Mattachine Society, one of the nation’s first gay organizations in the 1950s. But while residents celebrate the neighborhood’s gay past and its role in the gay rights movement, the ongoing closure of Silver Lake gay bars and shops has some wondering where have all the gays gone?
That question might surprise a newcomer to Silver Lake, where same-sex couples can be seen pushing baby strollers around the Silver Lake reservoirs, and gays and lesbians hold leadership positions in neighborhood groups. But Silver Lake’s gay scene, like those in other gay enclaves across the country, is less visible as gays and lesbians find greater acceptance in the mainstream. Hyperion Avenue, for example, is now home to more preschools than gay bars.
“When I first moved to Silver Lake from San Francisco, it had gay bars everywhere,” said Scott Craig, who arrived in Silver Lake in 1981. Now many of those bars – such as Detour, Le Bar, and Flamingo – are gone. Many of the restaurants and shops – including A Different Light, which became a national gay book store chain – that once catered primarily to gay customers are only memories now. Craig said his Silver Lake neighbors were once predominately gay. Now he estimates that his immediate neighborhood is half gay – at most.
“It’s changed,” said Craig, who owns Akbar, one of Silver Lake’s last remaining gay bars. “I would say the gay presence is more subdued.”