The queer community found tolerance amid spaces that were comfortable, says Schläger. Niche spots on the Hill created a sort of “gay bubble,” as Neighbours Nightclub disc jockey and LGBTQ+ history aficionado Randy Schläger likes to call it. Pioneer Square walked so Capitol Hill could run. Before there was the fetish-friendly Cuff Complex or drag-heavy R Place-both of which opened on Capitol Hill, the former in the late ’80s and the latter in the early ’90s-Pioneer Square had the Casino, a same-sex speakeasy dancehall, and the South End Steam Baths too.
