Fourth St., which includes Oil Can Harry’s and two other queer-friendly businesses, Coconut Club and Neon Grotto. Another new development proposal would demolish 201-213 W. ” A building would have to show architectural significance… and cultural historic significance.”Ī couple of blocks south of The Iron Bear is Oil Can Harry’s, Austin’s oldest LGBT entertainment venue. “(The designation process) actually asks properties to qualify in a few different categories,” said District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo, who represents the district where the business is located. (Photo: Samuel Stark, Reporting Texas TV)įor an Austin building to be considered a historic landmark, the Austin Historic Landmark Commission must first approve historic zoning, followed by a city council designation. “It was kind of a shock that the owner was trying to work with another company and tear down the building,” Beshear added.Ī utility box at the intersection of Fourth and Colorado Streets, near many of Austin’s gay bars, bears the colors of the Philadelphia Pride Flag. When they moved into their current location, the owners were aware the building would be torn down at some point, but said there were no other options in the downtown area.Īlthough the owners were aware of the impending demolition of the structure, they did not think it would happen so soon. The Iron Bear moved from Eighth Street to Sixth Street in February 2020, just three weeks before the first shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the commission recommends historic zoning to the city council at their May 4 meeting, the council will need a supermajority vote to approve the action.
The Historic Landmark Commission’s action paused the proposed demolition. Many in the queer community decried the proposed demolition of The Iron Bear, which led Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission to initiate historic zoning on the bar’s building. The Iron Bear, along with some other queer-friendly spaces on Fourth Street, may soon be demolished to make room for new developments going into the downtown area. It’s important to have spaces like what we are,” Beshear said. “The Iron Bear is place that catches the people that don’t really fit in the stereotypical gay mold.
Bengie Beshear, a co-owner of the venue, describes it as welcoming to all types of gay men. When using a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo check the safe search settings where you can exclude adult content sites from your search results Īsk your internet service provider if they offer additional filters īe responsible, know what your children are doing online.AUSTIN, Texas - Nestled among skyscrapers in Austin’s booming downtown area is The Iron Bear, a beloved gay bar on West Sixth Street. Use family filters of your operating systems and/or browsers Other steps you can take to protect your children are: More information about the RTA Label and compatible services can be found here. Parental tools that are compatible with the RTA label will block access to this site. We use the "Restricted To Adults" (RTA) website label to better enable parental filtering. Protect your children from adult content and block access to this site by using parental controls. PARENTS, PLEASE BE ADVISED: If you are a parent, it is your responsibility to keep any age-restricted content from being displayed to your children or wards. Furthermore, you represent and warrant that you will not allow any minor access to this site or services. This website should only be accessed if you are at least 18 years old or of legal age to view such material in your local jurisdiction, whichever is greater. You are about to enter a website that contains explicit material (pornography).