The developers said that their plan to build a mixed-use development on the spot would maintain the “beloved character” of the district, with open areas and a corner that invites street activity. filed by applicant Metcafe Wolff Stuart and Williams, LLP, an Austin-based real estate law firm. David Ott of Houston-based developer Hanover Company and Clara Wineberg of Chicago-based architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz on April 11 appeared before the commission’s architectural review committee for feedback on plans for the site. The Historic Landmark Commission is considering a demolition proposal for 201-213 W. While they do not bill themselves as LGBTQ bars as explicitly as their neighbors, the adjoining dance clubs regularly host drag shows and queer DJs. The latter touts itself as the oldest LGBTQ bar in the city, opening in 1990.Ĭoconut Club and Neon Grotto, newcomers to the block, set up shop more recently - in 2019 for the former and 2021 for the latter. While the lineup has changed, consistent residents calling it home include Rain, Highland Lounge and Oilcan Harry’s. The Fourth Street neighborhood has been home to the greatest concentration of Austin’s LGBTQ bars for decades. When the Supreme Court opened the door for marriage equality in 2015, celebrations centered on Fourth Street, for example, and the annual Austin Pride Parade route marches past Oilcan Harry's.
Historically, bars like these have been crucial community centers for the city's queer population. The prospect has caused a groundswell of public opposition to the demolition, but not all the bar owners feel the same way. In the city’s Warehouse District, developers seek to demolish the buildings home to Oilcan Harry’s, Coconut Club and Neon Grotto near Fourth and Colorado streets and the Iron Bear on West Sixth Street. All four Austin nightclubs either cater primarily to LGBTQ patrons, like Oilcan Harry's and the Iron Bear, or program entertainment explicitly for that community, as in the case of Coconut Club and Neon Grotto.
While Oilcan Harry’s will retain its street-facing facade and signage in the new space, its neighbors Neon Grotto and Coconut Club will likely be replaced by a “cool, chef-driven restaurant,” Ott said.ĭevelopers said they hope to have their demolition request considered by the full landmark commission at its May 4 meeting.Watch Video: Austin's LGBTQ bars could be displaced by demolitionĪbout half of Austin’s LGBTQ-centric nightlife spaces could soon be displaced, as redevelopment comes to the historic buildings they call home. The gay landmark had operated in Studio City since 1968 until it became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021. Its name is a reference to the oldest gay club in Los Angeles, Oil Can Harry’s.
Oilcan Harry’s at 211 West Fourth– the one tenant protected from the demolition– has been in operation for 30 years. “But also, to the extent there’s a business there that does have some lease term left, how can the developer come in and work with that business to ensure that they come back in, in a designed space that works for their needs and maintains the texture and quality at the ground floor that’s there today.” “Our intent is to…set an example here really about how responsible development can happen, and a developer can come in and at their own will and desire try to preserve facades-which we’re doing at Third and Brazos as well,” Ott said. Stream Realty gets green light for six-story office project in East Austin.Rastegar Property plans office project in bustling Austin neighborhood