Tucson - Guide for Gays, Lesbians and Queers

Tucson has no real gayborhood, but the area around Fourth Avenue, between downtown and the university, is where queer life is most concentrated. The two best-known bars are only a few blocks apart.

IBT's, at North 4th Avenue, has been the main address since the eighties. It works as a bar, a restaurant and a dance spot at once, with a patio, drag shows, karaoke and trivia nights. If you are new in town and want to meet people, start here. Venture-N on North 6th Avenue is the counterpart: a plain neighborhood bar with a Levi and leather crowd, bears and older regulars, and a patio made for long conversations. Surly Wench Pub, at North 4th Avenue, is run by women. It does not present itself as a queer venue, but its burlesque nights and live music draw plenty of lesbians and queer people.

As far as the established gay travel guides show, Tucson has no gay sauna or sex club. Queer social life here happens in the bars.

There is no LGBTQ community center either. For a long time Wingspan filled that role, offering counseling, support groups and programs for young and older people. Wingspan closed after running into financial trouble, and several of its programs, including the Eon youth project, the Anti-Violence Project and Senior Pride, found a new home at the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation. Tucson Pride, which called itself the oldest LGBTQ organization in Arizona, has also dissolved. Since then the community has organized more through smaller groups such as Southern Arizona Senior Pride and through social media.

For anyone interested in local queer history: the movement in Tucson traces back to the death of Richard Heakin, who was beaten to death outside a bar called the Stonewall Tavern. The first Pride event here was a memorial picnic.