Brazos River Bottom, also known as the BRB, was a

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

located in the Midtown,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, - Compare with F Bar's address. that opened in 1978. At the time of its closure in 2013, it was one of Houston's oldest gay bars, and the oldest still running at its original location.

Description

Brazos River Bottom hosted a unique cowboy atmosphere, drawing on Houston's Old Western history. BRB offered free

line dancing A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight ...

lessons on Thursdays and included a large dance hall, a disco ball, and pool tables. BRB also hosted the Houston Council of Clubs's Let Us Entertain You Weekend, which began in 1971 and consists of four days of social events hosted by the council. The BRB also hosted charity fundraisers on Sunday nights, and in 2013, was a venue for several of the Texas Gay Rodeo Association's entertainment events.

History

The BRB opened at 2400 Brazos Street,

, in February 1978 in a building that had been constructed in 1887, and continued to operate there until its closing. Before the BRB opened, at least three other bars had resided at that location, with at least one of them — The Golden Spur, which closed in May 1975 — also having been a gay bar. Earlier bars at that location include the Q-1 Western and Levi's. The BRB also became the meeting place of the Colt 45's, who became activists in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. After the closure in 2009 of Mary's, another gay bar in the city, BRB was the longest-running Houston gay bar at its original location. That same year, BRB was named Houston's Best Dance Club by the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' in their "Best of Houston 2009" edition. The BRB closed on March 30, 2013, just after its 35th anniversary, with its owners citing deteriorating building conditions as the reason for its closure. The owners also stated that they hoped to open BRB again at a different location, but as of June 2016, the BRB has not been reopened. However, several of the BRB's former patrons opened the

Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon is an Country and Western bar/honky tonk that was founded as the Esquire Ballroom in 1955 by Raymond Proske in Houston, Texas at 11410 Hempstead northwest of downtown Houston. In the 1970s and 1980s the club was consi ...

elsewhere in Houston.

Reception

Brazos River Bottom was hailed as a fixture of LGBT culture in Houston during the time it remained open, and after its closure, LGBT Houstonians were hard-pressed to find another hangout location.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 29.749140, -95.377831, display=title 1978 establishments in Texas Defunct companies based in Texas Defunct LGBT drinking establishments in the United States LGBT culture in Houston LGBT drinking establishments in Texas Restaurants disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Texas Restaurants established in 1978 Defunct restaurants in Houston LGBT history in Texas