Los Angeles Gay Bar Mattachine Closes Its Doors

Downtown Los Angeles's Bar Mattachine, one of the area's few gay spaces outside of West Hollywood, shut down Sunday, reports Hornet.

The L.A. space, which opened in 2015, was near Precinct and Redline, two other gay establishments. The upscale Mattachine served craft cocktails and featured trivia nights, drag performances, and lounge parties.

The closing surprised many Angelenos. It comes just before the DTLA Proud Festival, to be held this weekend in nearby Pershing Square.

The bar's name paid homage to the Mattachine Society, an early gay rights organization founded by Harry Hay in Los Angeles. It also featured a cocktail named for Hay and others named for one of his lovers, fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, and Pershing Square, once a gay cruising ground.

In a recent interview with The Advocate, owner Garrett McKechnie said gay bars were still relevant. "Gay bars are not [just] there now so we can feel safe ... they are there so we can be together," he said. The closure, which was announced in a brief post on Bar Mattachine's Facebook page; McKechnie and others connected with the club have yet to comment further..