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This bar was still trying make it as a straight bar in the mid-Sixties, despite having gay customers - trust me, I was a customer then. This was the reason the Sip-in was successful here, gay-identified customers from Mattachine were refused service. The Candle Bar uptown on West 74th and Amsterdam was operating at this time as a real gay bar - and is still operating as one. Julius's is okay for a nostalgia trip and burgers.

This place has been operating as a gay bar since the mid-60's when I first went there - unlike Julius's in the Village, which was still trying to keep gay men out at that time. Whether it was as the Candlelight Lounge of forty years ago or today's Candle Bar, it has always been a friendly spot.

julius is the oldest gay bar in new york---and perhaps---the world. if one is familiar with gay history, it is the bar where the "great refusal to serve" precipitated the gay movement (stonewall came after). burgers on the grill, great menu specials on saturdays, a one time "best gay bar in new york" according to new york magazine, cited by esquire magazine as one of the best BARS in new york (gay or straight). welcome there are gay men, lesbians, straight men, straight women, transgendered men and women, bisexual men and women: an all inclusive neighborhood bar, "where everyone knows your name." and if you're a vistor, folks will ASK your name, say hello and include you in the conversation. don't miss the lamppost outside and it's insciption: there from money rasied from julius patrons; or the FREE thanksgiving and christmas feasts of turkey/ham/etc and all the trimmings--a half dozen in total, plus dessert, so folks who have no place better to be than there with friends have a great holiday feast. many of the julius friends have departed, but we carry on with the friendship that remains, together. a magical place. some don't get it. come say hello. embrace it. don't be so shallow that you miss the point. peace.