Throughout the late 1950s through early 1970s, Austin was home to only a handful of gay bars, including the Cabaret (3010 Guadalupe), the Red River Lounge (900 Red River), Pearl Street Warehouse (17th and Lavaca), and The Apartment (29th and Rio Grande), all of which were long closed by the end of the twentieth century. The small storefront of the Manhattan Restaurant blended into the scene of commercial storefronts, passing vehicles, and wandering pedestrians on the ever-bustling Congress Avenue. The club operated out of a small backroom of the Manhattan Restaurant and fit approximately eighteen people, according to a patron. Although no official sources document the advertisement of the space for this purpose, several witnesses have verified the Manhattan Club as a gay-friendly establishment in Austin throughout these years.
Operated by Jewish couple David and Florence “Flo” Robbins, the Manhattan Restaurant at 911 Congress Avenue opened in 1957 and closed in 1969. The Manhattan Club was Austin, Texas’s, earliest documented gay bar.
