63 Chester Street: theBar
From 1978 to 2017, 63 Chester Street in Champaign was home to two prominent LGBTQ spaces that were known throughout the Midwest scene: theBar and Chester Street.
On Easter Day in 1978, theBar opened at 63 Chester Street, under the ownership of Joe McNamara, Tim White, and Mike Short, all of whom were former employees at Giovanni's, a popular Champaign gay bar. Joe McNamara became the sole owner of theBar within the first few months. When it opened, theBar advertised a full restaurant, a side room bar, a disco, and a game room.
theBar's name came from the coded language that gay people would often use when talking about a gay bar. Instead of talking about going to "the gay bar," people would say "the bar." theBar's name was a coded way of telling others it was a safe place for gay men, lesbians, and other queer people to meet up with others and socialize.
With disco rising in popularity, it was popular to have a live DJ. Joe was inspired by discotheques such as Studio 54 and aspired to turn theBar into Champaign's own disco spot that could compete with the extravagance of the larger cities' bars. As his live DJ, Joe hired Doug Barnes, who he had met at a gay bar in Peoria called Male Box and worked briefly with at The Balloon Saloon and Giovanni's. Shortly after, Ross Johnston and Michael Lynch were hired as additional DJs.
On opening night, "two thousand gay and lesbian disco dancing queens rotated on and off the dance floor," coming from cities such as St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Chicago ("The early days of gay rights in Champaign-Urbana", The News-Gazette, 2008).
theBar had a JBL sound system that was an exact replica of Studio 54's, and the wired-lighting allowed each bulb to be controlled by a switchboard in the DJ booth. The sound and light systems were designed for theBar by Dave Leedke, a friend of the owner and skilled engineer. According to DJ Doug, the sound was localized on the dance floor, which allowed people to have conversations in the side room without yelling over loud music.
At theBar, Joe McNamara would host exciting performances, like the Marching Illini, square dancers, can-can dancers, tight-rope walkers, live bands, and of course, drag performers from around the state of Illinois. Bars were required by law to close at 1:00 a.m., and after-parties were frequently hosted by DJ Doug Barnes and his friends.
Quickly gaining popularity as the best spot in town for dancing, theBar had somewhat of a mixed crowd of LGBTQ people and straight people. The popularity of disco and the joy of the atmosphere brought people together.
In Gay Chicago Magazine, U of I professor John Leckenby said about theBar:
"Joe McNamara gave the gay community of Champaign-Urbana more fun in five years than they should have expected in a lifetime."
Opportunity called McNamara elsewhere, and theBar was sold in July 1983 to Ed Piriano, who opened the establishment as Chester Street Bar.
