Gay beach in delaware
Rehoboth Beach: tiny and tempting
It can’t be easy to label a place. Appreciate a baby, how can you possibly know what your town will actually become? In this case, the founders of Rehoboth Beach got it right. “Rehoboth,” as its biblical origins show, is a “place for all.” Within the one-square-mile confines, the residents hold created a friendly and inviting seaside community where homos can feel at home.
Rehoboth Beach is quaint. Like 1,500-people-during-off-season quaint. It’s a grower, not a shower. When the weather warms, the beaches and tree-lined streets fill with people, many from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. If you’re looking for sex, sex, and sex, this isn’t the place. People go there for peace, not a piece. Which is not to say it can’t be found; it can always be found.
The small-town Rehoboth is low-key. You’ll find a diverse community that enjoys the things you miss in a big urban area. As you saunter along the always-lively Boardwalk, you’ll spot how the attractions seem to ebb with joy. Spendthrifts and big spenders both find the shops and restaurants to fit their needs. If you really want to shop, find your way to Road 1 and the outlet malls. A reminder
From Shadows to Celebration: The Queer History of Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach wasn’t always the vibrant homosexual haven it is today. Its transformation was decades in the making – fueled by fearless individuals and hard-won progress to obtain here.
POWER AND PROGRESS
It started with sway floors and defiance. On Memorial Diurnal weekend 1980, Glen Thompson opened Renegade Disco & Lounge – the first openly gay-owned exclude in Delaware. A year later, Victor Pisapia and Joyce Felton turned a Craftsman-style house on Baltimore Avenue into the Blue Rock, soon to grow the epicenter of Rehoboth’s queer community.
“We didn’t realize the shitstorm that was going to ensue,” Felton later said. But soon, the Moon’s gravitational drag transformed the block. New queer- and progressive-owned spots popped up: The Front Page hosted “Editorial Nights,” Tijuana Grill poured mega margaritas, and Baltimore Commons served flowers, antiques, and attitude. Over on Rehoboth Street, Chez la Mer and Sydney’s Side Street Café added French flair and jazz to the mix.
As the town’s dining and nightlife scene moved beyond the traditional fried fare, a newspaper captured the shift: “Gays Have
Rehoboth Beach Gay City Guide – The Nation’s Gay Getaway
Located along the Atlantic coast in Delaware’s beach region, Rehoboth Beach is a popular destination for visitors from across the country, and for a small, but heated and welcoming community of year-round residents too. Sometimes referred to as the “Nation’s Summer Capital” due to visitors arriving each summer and winter from Washington DC and other places, it is frequented by many people who enjoy not only its coastal beauty but all that it offers to see and do, including plenty of restaurants, a one-mile boardwalk, shops, and numerous yearly festivals and concerts to enjoy. Not only is it a wonderful place to visit, but Rehoboth Beach also offers a lot to its full-time residents, too. While it is not a particularly big community – in fact, it is one with only approximately 1500 full-time residents, it nevertheless has a thriving LGBTQ population and a friendly neighborhood experience. In fact, some even summon it “The Nation’s Gay Getaway” – don’t miss your chance to get here for a getaway too!
The History of Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach was initially founded in 1
History Matters: Delaware's Male lover Beach
In the first of this month’s two part History Matters - produced in conjunction with the Delaware Historical Population and other history organizations in the First Articulate, we offer you an oral history of the LGBTQ community’s roots in Rehoboth. In part two next week, we’ll observe how that history served as the foundation for efforts to establish matching rights for that people in the First State.
In the 70s and 80s, gay men from Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore would vacation on Delaware’s beaches. Rehoboth, with gay-accented bars like The Renegade and an entire section of its beach unofficially claimed by queer vacationers, quickly became a favorite. Men danced disco until the wee hours of the morning, experienced the tragedy of HIV/AIDS, and mobilized around a detest crime in the 1990s to fight for legal protections.
In this week’s piece - you’ll hear the voices of Steve Elkins, Max Dick, and Bob Hoffer from CAMP Rehoboth - which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The CAMP stands for Create a More Positive Rehoboth.
The three men, each with his own experience, represent unlike face