Ken Bernstein, principal city planner and manager of the Office of Historic Resources, said the site’s history wasn’t brought up during the approval process. Such analysis, called an environmental impact report, may note if a building set for demolition has architectural or historical significance, for instance. In February, the Los Angeles City Council approved plans for a 695-unit condominium project on Santa Monica Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue, site of both clubs.Ĭircus Disco’s history should have been included in planning documents for the forthcoming condo projects, some groups argue.
“It was an environment where I could relate to people,” said Menendez-Benavides, who is making a documentary on the clubs.
Unlike gay clubs in West Hollywood, where the clientele was focused on money and looks, Menendez-Benavides said, Circus Disco and Arena attracted a crowd that looked more like himself. Jonathan Menendez-Benavides, 31, spent his teenage years dancing to music by Colombian group La Sonora Dinamita and Beyonce at both Circus Disco and Arena.
Circus Disco welcomed the ladies, he said. At the time, some gay bars had rules prohibiting open-toe shoes in an attempt to ban women. Hollywood Heritage’s Adkins recalled visiting Circus Disco in the 1970s and 1980s. Other clubs, the city notes, “would discourage nonwhites from entering by demanding multiple forms of identification.” Gene LaPietra, who founded both Circus Disco and nearby club Arena, and whose name is on the application for the condo development, didn’t return calls.Īccording to a 2014 survey done by Los Angeles’ Office of Historic Resources, both Circus Disco and Mid-City’s Catch One “were founded in response to the discrimination gay men of color experienced at predominately white venues in West Hollywood.” Mid-City club Catch One, which catered to black gays and lesbians in the ‘70s and ‘80s, also announced it will close. The demise of Circus Disco follows news that West Hollywood’s The Factory, an iconic gay bar dating back to 1967, will close. “It’s hard to see how far you have come when you have no evidence of where you began,” said Richard Adkins, head of the preservation group Hollywood Heritage who frequented Circus Disco decades ago. Gays and lesbians are more accepted in the mainstream, but the nightclubs that catered to those groups are being demolished with little consideration, preservationists contend. The Los Angeles City Council earlier this year approved plans to build condominiums on the site of the club, one of many new residential projects coming to Hollywood.įor preservationists and gay rights advocates, Circus Disco’s closure marks another blow in the effort to preserve Los Angeles’ gay history. Women, discouraged from entering many Los Angeles gay clubs, were also welcome on some nights.ĭecades later, Circus Disco’s run is coming to an end. Located on an industrial stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard, the nightclub opened its doors to gay minorities at a time when many men felt excluded at the mostly white gay clubs. For some club patrons in the 1970s, Hollywood’s Circus Disco was a refuge.