LOCATION:

Seattle, Washington

Recorded history of the LGBT community in Seattle begins with the Washington Sodomy Law of 1893. In the 1920s and 1930s there were several establishments in Seattle which were open to homosexuals. The Double Header, opened in 1934, may have been the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States until it closed in December 2015. On 19 November 1958, an injunction instructed the city police not to question customers of gay bars unless there was a "good cause" in connection with an actual investigation. In the 1960s, Seattle became to be seen as providing an accepting environment, and an increasing number of gay and lesbians were drawn to the city. In 1967 University of Washington's Professor Nick Heer founded the Dorian Society, the first group in Seattle to support gay rights.

Seattle's LGBT community is the second largest in the United States after San Francisco with 12.9% of the city identifying as LGBT. The Capitol Hill neighborhood in particular is considered by many the "center of gay life" in Seattle, with gay-friendly businesses and nightlife, and a resource center.

Events Calendar

By Alan Beck 07 Dec, 2022
17 February to 5 March 2023
By gtm 13 Aug, 2022
We are updating our new site and we're inviting you to share your local knowledge please? Gay Travel Maps - Building a better safer LGBTQ travel network

Accommodations

Kimpton Hotel Monaco
Sheraton Grand Seattle

A 9-minute walk from the Seattle Art Museum, this polished high-rise hotel is 11 minutes' walk from Pike Place Market. 


Warm, modern rooms with city views feature custom-designed beds and coffeemakers, plus Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs. Club rooms offer access to a lounge serving free breakfast and evening snacks. Suites add separate living areas.

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Silver Reef Casino Resort

Set 3.8 miles from the Lummi Bay shore, this upmarket spa hotel and casino is 4.6 miles from the Ferndale Event Center and 4.7 miles from Hovander Homestead Park. 


The rooms and suites feature a warm, earthy color palette accented with rich wood and contemporary furnishings. They have flat-screen TVs, coffeemakers and free Wi-Fi. Upgraded rooms have whirlpool tubs, minifridges and wet bars, plus access to a private lounge.

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Kimpton Alexis Hotel

A downtown landmark, this chic 1901 hotel is 4 minutes' walk from the Seattle Art Museum and 12 minutes' walk from Seattle Aquarium. 


Elegant rooms have period touches and include high-end linens and toiletries. All have flat-screen TVs, desks with ergonomic chairs, yoga mats, and minibars. Suites include separate living space, and some have panoramic city views. Wi-Fi is available (fee), as are in-room spa treatments and 24-hour room service.

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Kimpton Hotel Vintage

A mile from the Space Needle, this sophisticated wine-themed hotel is a 6-minute walk from Benaroya Hall concert hall and a 7-minute walk from the Washington State Convention Center. 


The chic, contemporary rooms feature local artwork and colorful accents, plus yoga mats, flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Upgraded rooms add separate sitting areas with pull-out sofas. Spa services and 24/7 room service are available.

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Attractions

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street. With more than 10 million visitors annually, Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and is the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world. 

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Gas Works Park

Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Washington, is a 19.1-acre public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford neighborhood. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 2, 2013, more than a decade after being nominated. Gas Works park contains remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the United States. The plant operated from 1906 to 1956 and was bought by the city of Seattle for park purposes in 1962. The park opened to the public in 1975. The park was designed by Seattle landscape architect Richard Haag, who won the American Society of Landscape Architects Presidents Award of Design Excellence for the project.

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Space Needle

The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a city landmark and is considered an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors. Nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators during the event. Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, it is 605 ft high, 138 ft wide, and weighs 9,550 short tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods. The Space Needle has an observation deck at 520 ft. It features views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and surrounding islands in Puget Sound.

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Bars & Clubs

Chop Suey

Following an ownership-changeover, Chop Suey has gone from oddly Asian-themed bar and secret live music powerhouse underdog to still confusingly decorated music venue that now has a side bar and small second stage in its 'Den' with pinball machines, a mostly functioning (as opposed to previously never functioning) photo booth, and a kitchen window from which to buy chicken and other fried delights. What remains the same is its eclectic array of fairly-priced live music, from hiphop to metal to singer-songwriter types, almost every night of the week.

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Diesel Seattle

Seattle's Premier BEAR BAR. 100% GAY owned & operated - by Bears, for bears. Located in Seattle's Capitol Hill (historically Gay friendly) neighborhood. Heavy masculine influence with an authentic blue collar vibe & friendly attitude. Categorically a "Bear Bar" yet friendly towards all walks of the Gay community. Located within 1 block of other major Gay Bars, Between Madison & Union on 14th Ave.

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Lumber Yard

The Lumber Yard Bar strives to be a place where the south Seattle community can Gather, relax, laugh and Hydrate! We chose the WC area because it is our home (we live just a few blocks away). We love the area and the many positive changes that are evolving the current landscape to make this area a destination. 


We opened the Lumber Yard because we love to entertain and socialize. Our home has always been a gathering place for friends and large events.

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Queer / Bar

Queer Bar is a bar that adds a lot of queer energy to this legendary Capitol Hill block. They hold live drag performances every Friday and Saturday night, with DJs throughout the week. There's also a menu of fried chicken sandwiches, wings, salads, and other food offerings by chef Monica Dimas

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R Place Bar & Grill

Celebrating over 33 years in Seattle's Gay community! Home to the legendary Lashes Drag show, the Sexiest Gogo boys in the PNW, & the best DJs in Town!

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Union

NEVER-A-COVER annual parties and events - From happy hour to a late night groove, Union has something for everyone.


Union Seattle proudly serves the LGBTQ/Allied Community and is located in the heart of the "Gayborhood" at the corner of 14th Ave. and E. Union Street.

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Madison Pub

Relaxed, gay-friendly bar offering beer & cocktails, plus TV sports, pool, darts & a jukebox.

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Wildrose

A PLACE FOR WOMEN......AND ALL ARE WELCOME. Women owned and operated since 1984. 


The Wildrose is a lesbian bar in Seattle, Washington. It is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and opened in 1984. It is the city's only lesbian bar. 


One of the oldest lesbian bars on the West Coast, offering DJs, karaoke & seasonal outdoor seating.

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Restaurants

Galaxy Rune

In house crafted burgers, pulled pork, fries, chili, and milkshakes. All items are vegan. Guaranteed to satisfy all diets.

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June Baby

FOOD WITH ROOTS 


Come for the food and stay for the history. 

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Pike Place Chowder

Amidst worthy opponents, our Classic New England Clam Chowder has brought home the First Place Trophy for 5-years running. Many thousands of fans flock to this annual October festival to enjoy creations from more than 30 award-winning chefs and restaurants. At the end of the day-long feast, visitors cast their votes for their favorite chowders, in four categories. Pike Place Chowder has been the only West Coast restaurant to challenge these daunting East-Coast competitors. Thanks to the support of media partners and sponsors, the Chowdafest organization has been able to contribute over 400,000 meals for those in need. 

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CC Attle's

Laid-back local gay bar serving pub food & cocktails with open-mike night, patio & late hours.

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Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street. With more than 10 million visitors annually, Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and is the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world. 

CLICK HERE

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Art / Entertainment

Wing Luke Museum

Old timers undoubtedly remember the fact that an expansion back in the 90s led to both the opening of the Wing Luke Museum and the shuttering of one of the neighborhood's most beloved dim sum restaurants. Fear not: the space's origin story does not diminish the love patrons bestow upon this community-oriented museum's devotion to Seattle's Asian-American population. Beyond the museum walls (which hold portrait exhibits, historic storefront displays and rotating topical studies) visitors can take guided tours of the neighborhood, focusing on immigration, Bruce Lee or even the food scene.

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Olympic Sculpture Park

Part of the Seattle Art Museum, this sprawling waterfront space serves double duty as public park and free museum. Alexander Calder's Eagle watches over as the signature piece in the nine-acre, multi-level, free-admission maze of green space, beach and paths. It shares space with a variety of modern American sculptures, perhaps keeping an eye on people violating the museum's "touching harms the art" policy.

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Frye Art Museum

Art snobs and broke college students alike agree that visiting the Frye makes for an enjoyable afternoon. Founders and art collectors, the Frye family initially founded the space in 1952 as a way to display their personal collection of mostly 18th and 19th century paintings?offering free admission to all. While the founding collection can seem a bit staid and conservative, newer rotating exhibits tend towards the ground-breaking and inspiring.

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Museum of History and Industry

A catch-all museum dedicated to keeping tabs on the region's past, MOHAI, as it's known, is a must-see for anyone looking to find out what makes the city tick (yes, it's mostly coffee). The museum's vast collection of artifacts is not always on display in its entirety but, on most days, patrons will be treated to history lessons told by pets and a study of transportation in the area.

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Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the open Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on January 20, 2007.

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Resources

Lifelong Alliance

Lifelong has always been an organization that stands up for communities facing discrimination and marginalization. 


In the 1980's, elected officials and other local and national leaders displayed unspeakable cruelty and bigotry when they refused to support the services and research needed to combat the early surge of the HIV epidemic. A handful of volunteers witnessed their friends, partners, and neighbors neglected and left to die. 

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Lambert House

n 1991 AGLYA seized an opportunity to lease an old Victorian house in Capitol Hill, Seattle's LGBTQ neighborhood. In 1993 AGLYA was renamed Lambert House after Gray Lambert, a local LGBTQ youth advocate who helped secure funding to find the organization a more stable home. Gray Lambert died of HIV/AIDS related complications in August of 1991. 


Within two years the board hired the first paid staff members. Today, Lambert House has a national reputation as a leading organization in the Northwest for queer youth.

CLICK HERE

Shopping

Lifelong Thrift Store

Lifelong has always been an organization that stands up for communities facing discrimination and marginalization. 


They were compelled to fight back, and mobilized the community to unite against injustice. They made a lifesaving difference in the lives of thousands through assembly of chore wheels, hospital visitation calendars, and the establishment of new non-profit organizations. They helped create us, Northwest AIDS Foundation, Chicken Soup Brigade and Evergreen Wellness Advocates, which became Lifelong.

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Out of the Closet

Out of the Closet is a nonprofit chain of thrift stores whose revenues provide medical care for patients with HIV/AIDS. The chain is owned and operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Los Angeles-based charity that provides medical, preventive, and educational resources for patients. AHF is the nation's largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention, and education provider. Out of the Closet thrift stores generate income to help fund the medical services AHF provides for those patients who are unable to pay. Proceeds from Out of the Closet Thrift Stores directly benefit AHF.

CLICK HERE
Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. Named after the central street, Pike Place runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street.

CLICK HERE

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