Have you ever wondered why the Saloon has boxes to dance on? The Downtown Journal profiles Jim Anderson and John Moore, owners of the Saloon, about 30 years of Pride at the bar: From arrests and police raids in the 1980s to a 3,000 person block party in 2010.
On the boxes:
The two got their bartending start in 1971 — back when the Gay 90s was still a straight bar, back when patrons danced on boxes set out on the floor, as it was illegal for two men to dance together on a dance floor — at a gay bar called Sutton Place, located where the Target Center is today.
On how the duo came to own the Saloon:
The two bought the Saloon in 1980, after having tended bar there since the club opened in 1977. In 1980, the prior owner, Ron Pesis, was sent to federal prison after getting caught bribing a city council member — business as usual back then, when owners of gay bars regularly paid kickbacks to city, police, fire and health officials to avoid raids and shut-downs.