35. Sleep with the fishes—or the felines
If you’ve got small kids, we don’t need to sell you on the marvels of Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium.
Whiskey Blue, the Wine Loft, and the Bookhouse Pub
1. Whiskey Blue
The Bookhouse Pub: Benjamin Rhoades
Leather c
Greg Heagerty
Coming of age in the era of Stonewall gave Knoxville native Greg Heagerty a certain vantage point on the notion of gay pride. The sixty-five-year-old part-time doorman at Blake’s has watched the ups and downs of Atlanta’s gay nightlife scene through the seventies’ liberation era and into the present day. ONLINE EXTRA
Havana Club, Ormsby’s, Gold Room, and more
1. The Havana Club
Gold Room: David Walter Banks
Hip-swive
26. Sip a Negroni on a terrace
Okay, so Atlanta’s not Paris, but you can pretend you’re Owen Wilson and travel back to the Jazz Age, when the likes of Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tallulah Bankhead, and Charles Lindbergh mingled at the Georgian Terrace Hotel.
28. Get insulted by Charlie Brown
Former Atlantan RuPaul may
be our national claim to drag queen fame, but locals give props to his
compatriot, Charlie Brown—a performer in our gay scene for more than four decades.
The Gay Scene
Named the gayest city in the nation earlier this year by the Advocate, Atlanta will celebrate its fortieth Pride on October 9 and 10. The festivities will include a headlining performance by Idol finalist Kimberley Locke on the main stage in Piedmont Park, plus a kickoff party at the Georgia Aquarium the Friday before. For the uninitiated, explore the world of disco balls and drag queens by perusing these superlative nightlife destinations.
46. Explore Edgewood Avenue on a Saturday
Fortify yourself with a basket of chicken at Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar—and don’t forget the hot sauce.
48. Drink at Manuel’s—on a Tuesday
Near the end of Maynard Jackson’s second term, a few of us from his office used to get together after work to hoist a few and gossip and bitch. Manuel’s Tavern became one of our gathering places.
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