Due to the criminality and stigma of homosexuality, however, privacy and anonymity were a top concern for many. These spaces served as the primary locales for LGBTQ+ people to socialize for decades. Servicemen patronized the downtown bars, which often functioned as straight-by-day, gay-by-night establishments. Some of the earliest gay bars in San Diego include The Brass Rail and Bradley’s downtown, Cinnabar in the Gaslamp Quarter, The Hole in Loma Portal, and The Gizmo in Hillcrest. The bars and clubs were a vital fixture of American gay life during the first half of the 20th century. Gay social spaces began to emerge in private establishments such as boarding houses, bathhouses, theaters, and bars, as well as public parks and restrooms. San Diego Photograph Collection, San Diego State University.
Women experienced more financial independence, and everyone spent more time in same-sex environments. Wartime meant new employment options at home and in service. With such rapid growth, the LGBTQ+ community inevitably expanded and converged as well. The city swelled with military presence during the wars that, coupled with the influx of millions of permanent tourists from the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-1916, resulted in a population surge. El Prado at the San Diego Exposition, 1915, John and Jane Adams Postcard Collection.
However, an underground gay scene had been forming in San Diego for decades. As a result, most LGBTQ+ people were not public about their sexual orientation or gender identity. Homophobia and hostility toward the community prevailed as mainstream attitudes. Laws targeting homosexuality existed at the national, state, and local levels. It was not a safe time to be out in the United States, period. Prior to the Stonewall Riots and the birth of the modern gay rights movement in the 1970s, LGBTQ+ people in San Diego had few resources. To truly appreciate the significance of the Pride phenomenon in San Diego and all over the world, it is essential to understand the historical and social contexts from which it has emerged.