Chez Henri

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The Chez Henri was perhaps the original gay bar before there were gay bars. Located in Hull (now Gatineau), in the 1950s and 60s, the space was a rough hangout for both straights and gays and was well known for their drag acts, especially Peaches Latour.

Latour, whose real name is Paul Fournier, describes the crowd at that time to be a heady mix of homosexuals, prostitutes, drug dealers and gansters, quite the mix and not everyone got along as a result. Peaches made her début at the bar in the early 1960s, but was also arrested by Hull police that night, with them claiming that drag acts weren't allowed at the time.

The left side of the bar was the 'gay' side and the right side was the 'straight' side, and people didn't cross the lines unless there was trouble. Jeans and t-shirts were allowed downstairs, but upstairs you needed a jacket and tie. 

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