Club 363 - Pride Disco - Camp B - Q - Wet Lounge

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363 Bank Street was the location of a series of gay bars run in the 1990s that helped changed the face of the neighbourhood significantly. The bars that occupied the space before, such as the Gilmour and Neon, were country bars known to attract a rough-and-tumble crowd, like bikers, and the neighbourhood was considered fairly unsafe. When the building changed ownership and the space was renamed Club 363 as new gay bar in the hood, the dangerous reputation of the Village area began to dissipate.

363 famously offered male strip shows twice nightly, with DJ Jungle Jen spinning music in one her first regular gigs. The upstairs bar was massive, with a large stage surrounded by a chain-link fence, three large bars, a raised DJ booth, pool tables, and more, including ‘champagne rooms’ for private shows. Doug Muir became the manager of the space, renamed Pride Disco, with the smaller, ground level space called Camp B. The bar’s Sunday Starlight Cabaret drag shows, hosted by Dynasty Starr, particularly packed in the crowds every weekend.

Rob Giacobbi and Dale Curwin, owners of nearby Wilde’s sex shop, take over the space, renaming it Q, with Wet Lounge below. The bar quickly drops in popularity when Icon Bar opens up on Lisgar Street between Bank and Kent Streets in the mid-1990s and closes soon afterwards.

If you know more details about this place, please email info@bankstreet.ca to share dates, facts, images or more.

In partnership with the Bank Street BIA and Capital Pride.