(A bar called the Mineshaft does not appear in the 1970 novel Cruising by Gerald Walker, which, with substantial changes, was the inspiration for the 1980 film of the same name.)Īccording to Jack Fritscher, Jacques Morali drew his inspiration for the four archetypes of the Village People from the Mineshaft's dress code. Pacino attended as part of researching his role. Scenes were shot in streets and other locations near the Mineshaft. Regulars from the Mineshaft appeared as extras.
#GAY SEX PARTIES NYC MOVIE#
Since the Mineshaft would not allow filming, scenes from the movie were filmed at the Hellfire Club, which was decorated to resemble the Mineshaft. The Al Pacino movie Cruising was intended to depict gay cruising as it existed at the Mineshaft, though the bar is not named in the movie.
#GAY SEX PARTIES NYC CODE#
NOTE: The code was designed for particular men who compose the basic core of our club Popular culture
NO HEAVY OUTTER WEAR IS TO BE WORN IN PLAYGROUND NO RUGBY SHIRTS, DESIGNER SWEATERS, or TUXEDOS T shirts, plaid shirts, just plain shirts, Dress code Īs adopted by the club on October 1, 1976 The Leather Archives and Museum holds the records of the Mineshaft. Four pleaded guilty, former New York City police officer Richard Bell was convicted, and the sixth fled the country to escape prosecution. After it closed, six men, associated with both the Mineshaft and an affiliated heterosexual club, the Hellfire, were charged with a variety of crimes. The Mineshaft operated from October 8, 1976, until it was closed by the New York City Department of Health on November 7, 1985, although tax problems played a significant role in its closing. The existence of the Mineshaft was widely known among gays who never visited it has been called a "mythic.space". The images and posters for the club were created by the gay erotic artist Rex. According to the Mineshaft Newsletter, Fist Fuckers of America held meetings there.
Recreational drug use was common inside the club. Nudity or minimal clothing was encouraged, and a clothes check was provided. The upper floor or bar (no alcohol was sold, for legal reasons) had a roof deck, dungeons, slings, and cans of Crisco, at the time popular among gay men as a sexual lubricant preceding modern personal lubricant. It soon expanded to the first floor beneath, using back stairs to access a recreation of a jail cell, the back of a truck, dungeons, and a room containing spotlighted bathtubs in which men could let other men urinate on them. Originally the Mineshaft was on that one floor (and with a scat room, which was soon abandoned as too extreme). The door was staffed by someone who rejected anyone wearing preppie clothes or cologne, and this was a widely known part of what made the bar influential. The entrance to the club was up a flight of stairs, on the second floor. The location had previously been used by a gay bar, Zodiac. There was no sign on the entrance the exterior has been described as "grimy". Vincente Minnelli, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Rock Hudson, and Michel Foucault got in. Manager Wally Wallace (born James Wallace) said that he turned away Mick Jagger, and a bouncer turned away Rudolf Nureyev. One of the other women was Camille O'Grady. "After dinner I go to the Mineshaft."), gay erotic artist Rex, and Annie Sprinkle, who said she was one of three women ever allowed in. Among those who frequented the Mineshaft were author Jack Fritscher (who was present at its opening night and attended hundreds of times), Fritscher's lover Robert Mapplethorpe (who took many pictures of the Mineshaft and was at one point its official photographer.