![]() ![]() I think there were one or two old newspaper articles posted somewhere, but I never "got" what the sign represented until I came across an article that explained the history of Barney's. It seemed the sign was not a statement of policy, but an artifact whose history was mysterious, at least to me. There were gay patrons too, and they seemed perfectly comfortable. There were bikers, business men, actors, hippies, hookers, soul brothers, lost souls, hipsters, old timers, tourists. It seemed strange and confusing because West Hollywood was heavily gay, and Barney's was like the Cantina in Star Wars, you never know who would walk in the door next. Along the east side of the building was the bar, and you couldn't miss the old sign, prominently posted among the bottles that read FAGOTS-STAY OUT. At times it had a slightly dangerous vibe. The wooden walls and partitions were stained by decades of cigarette smoke, the bar was covered in old license plates before they became a diner cliche. Sometimes it was really annoying but the burgers were good and hey, I got them to put Werewolves Of London on the jukebox. I had a love-hate relationship with this place. With its pool tables and jukebox it was a great place for a late night burger & beer, though the waitresses weren't very cheerful and generally forgot half of your order. In the 1970's when I lived on Flores St., Barney's was just a couple blocks away and I became a bit of a regular. Barney's began in Berkeley, but in 1927 moved to its current location at 8446 Santa Monica Blvd. One topic I've had in mind has been Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood. The good part is that now I can contribute without being too redundant. I'm a bit sad because I've lost what, a month ago, seemed like a limitless supply of great photos and history. I've now read this whole thread so I'm caught up. UPDATE: For the full history of 919, including its rabbits, see The old ΛXA house seems to have been gone by then too. The addresses 919 and 931 were still extant in 1960 with the frats in residence, but by 1969 there was no 919 and the ΔTΔ's were occupying 909-so maybe the new structure OneArchives is now in was built by then. Through the years, of course, there was lots of demolition and lot rejiggering. This clears up some of my confusion-I knew that Clarence De Camp (he was in lumber) had built 919-the 909/919 addresses have long confused me, but now I'm realizing that 919 was mid-block, more or less across the street from southbound Portland Street (corner of the Curse of the Cat People Waters house at 900) and not closer to Scarff (more or less at the point where OneArchives's brick wall meets the Page fence of the parking lot), and that the Newton house, later the Lambda Chi Alpha house at 931 was on the ne corner of Thompson where the apartments are now. The DeCamps probably first lived here in a smaller Queen Anne but got into the Tudor style when chafing over the old Victorian. Contacting current sorority leadership hasn't produced a reply- surely they have preserved photo albums- not like the Delts who were banned from USC after a MAJOR "Animal House" period in the early 70s.Bad boys don't care for such history!. A grainy photo from L.A.Times archives (Aug 1, 1909) is all I've found. In the 30s, #909 became (with its large gardens) the home of the USC sorority Alpha Delta Pi - by WW2 the Delta Tau Delta frat owned this property and either burnt the home down or raised funds to build the brick edifice as a replacement frathouse - which today is where the One Archives exists. Gaylord W.- If you can attend our 60th anniversary event One in mid 2012 you'll get to see a 3 x 4 W.Adams map I recently whipped up featuring all the homes (and school and church) that comprised the street from Figueroa to Hoover - including the Tudor built in 1909 by the De Camps -later held by the socializing Chester Brown family. ![]()
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