Re-Bar Exterior, Seattle, WA, April, 1997

Photographer Lance Mercer

Visual image Re-Bar

DateApril 1997

DimensionsOverall (HWD): 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.32 cm)

Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection

Object number1997.170.20

Text Entries

Portal Description

This photograph depicts the nighttime exterior of Re-Bar in April 1997, which features a curved, illuminated arrow above the club’s red front door. Steve Wells and Patrick “Pit” Kwiecinski opened Re-Bar in January 1990 at 1114 Howell Street, which had long been a safe space for Seattle’s LGBTQ community. The Night Hawk Tavern (or Nite Hawk) opened in the 1930s, creating a center of gay nightlife featuring cabaret, followed by Thirsty’s in the 1970s, which then became Axel Rock, a dance-focused venue, in the 1980s, and finally Sparks Tavern, which added full-length stage plays, before Re-Bar moved in. Until 2020, when Re-Bar, like many venues, closed indefinitely during the COVID-19 pandemic, they hosted disco nights, art exhibits, theatre, drag, burlesque, and live bands, supporting generations of LGBTQ patrons and performers. KEXP’s Riz Rollins got his start as a DJ, becoming a big part of Seattle’s Black music scene, David Schmader put on his first three plays, and drag performer and comedian Dina Martina was born at Re-Bar. The venue also hosted one of the longest running poetry nights in the West, Seattle Poetry Slam, and a weekly Sunday dance night, Flammable. On September 13, 1991, Re-Bar also hosted the infamous release party for Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind.

Physical Description

Vertical photograph with a thick white mat. Image of Re-Bar from the sidewalk at night. A large window to the left of the red entry door looks into the bar, and the Re-bar logo with black text on a white oval is near the center of the window. A large, illuminated arrow is attached to the side of the buildings above the alcove in which the door is located. A sign to the right of the door reads “NO! Minors, drunks, drugs, bigots, or loud mouths. We reserve the right to refuse admission to anyone based on attitude.”

CopyrightThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For more information, see http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

On View

Not on view