Saving history, protecting the future
Mar 5, 2021 | 2
Caven/PegasusAblon development will help the gayborhood thrive
Frank Caven opened his first gay bar in 1970, forever changing the Dallas landscape and the Texas LGBTQ+ community at a time when homosexuality was widely considered an abomination and the gay community even communing was illegal in Dallas. Frank Caven was a pioneer for equality and inclusion, and many businesses would eventually follow his lead including Round-Up Saloon, which opened in 1980, and in 1984 Hunky’s Hamburgers.
After many years and many hard fought battles for equality and acceptance the community solidified around the area on Cedar Springs Road where those bars were located. Frank’s bars acted as an anchor for the community and helped create a place for commerce to develop and thrive. The sense of community that continues to be felt in what is commonly referred to as the gayborhood is the guiding light that shows new generations not only
Lords of an Underground Empire
The Old Plantation is the hottest bar in town. But only after surviving arson, harassment, and sabotage.
By
David Bauer
Published in
D Magazine
June
1979
Photography Courtesy of Ed Oakley
J
anuary, 1976: The two men stood in the dim light and surveyed their new domain. The place was looking good. It was late Saturday night and construction was right on schedule. The bars were nearly complete, all the equipment installed; the big dance floor was laid in the disco. Tomorrow they would put down the carpet and begin fine-tuning the place for their grand opening, just five days away. The two men had high hopes for their new nightclub here on Cedar Springs. It was going to be, they felt, the best gay bar in Dallas, the liveliest disco around. There was an established competitor just blocks away, but they were confident. The new Old Plantation would be a hit. They took one last look around, smiled at each other, and left.