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McNamara laughs warmly about the lounge at the Inman, called the Crystal Room, being the first ‘gay bar’. Barnes took a shot at the job, having never been a DJ before, and found a new vocation and community. Having a live DJ instead of just a jukebox was all the new rage at bars and clubs as the disco era began to take hold and McNamara was looking for a DJ. McNamara was the manager of a little bar called Giovanni’s Place that opened in Champaign in 1975 and catered to the gay community. Meeting other gays and just the excitement and feeling of being able to be myself around everyone, I had been out most of my life, but being in that space was the beginning of a whole new life.”īarnes went on to attend Illinois State University in Normal, IL and visited bars like the Male Box in Peoria, where he met Joe McNamara. “I remember sneaking in when I was still in high school, sitting in the corner, listening to the juke box, watching everyone, and having a great time. “It was actually the lounge at the Inman Hotel,” Barnes continued. Barnes and several good friends would load up in a car and make the trek to Champaign as often as once a week. “Not many people will remember the first actual ‘gay bar’ in C-U,” says Doug Barnes, who grew up in nearby Danville.
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