The Phoenix closed by 2007, reportedly because the owner died. It was a climax of complaints against The Phoenix, which neighbors described as a hotbed for prostitution and drug activity. “On April 12, undercover detectives visiting the Phoenix found a man sitting on a bar stool, his pants around his ankles, on the receiving end of a blowjob …” – Creative Loafing, November 2005 He was perched atop a barstool smoking a cigarette and sipping a beer.Ī few months later, police also stumbled upon a somewhat similar situation, albeit one that went a step further. One of them was a rail of a weathered man with an extremely long ponytail. There were few frills and fewer customers. The Phoenix had seen better days by the time I visited in about 2005. A gravel courtyard out back was also reportedly a - “busy” - area. 10Īccording to some guys over at the popular Facebook Group, “You’ve lived in GAY Atlanta a long time if you remember …”, The Phoenix was a very “active” place that was popular with hustlers and their admirers. Here’s an ad for both from 1994, welcoming the throngs of gay men who flocked to the Hot-Lanta River Expo. Downing also owned Scandals in Ansley Square. In 1989, Evelyn Downing opened The Phoenix, 8 which reigned at the site for almost 20 years. 7 But the party wasn’t over at 567 Ponce. “I do not condone that.”Įsther passed away just a few months later, by spring of 1988. “I had no idea this was happening,” she told The Atlanta Constitution. The owner of the bar, Esther Knight, was apparently shocked that such shenanigans could happen at The Stud.
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6ĭuring a raid, police found seven men “performing homosexual acts in full view of other customers.” The men faced charges that included sodomy, masturbation for hire, indecent exposure, simple battery, and attempted escape. 5 By 1987, Pegasus earned a new title for Atlanta: it was where, according to police, “the city’s first arrests for sex acts in an open area of a bar” possibly took place. July 23, 1981.īy 1983, The Conference Room made way for a short-lived bar called The Stud, 4 which quickly gave way to Pegasus Lounge in 1984. Advertisement for Frank Powel’s Conference Room.