Queer Historic Sites of the East

Andrew Collins
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Queer Historic Sites of the East

Places where you can get both your history and your nightlife gay

There are dozens of historic sites and museums in the United States that have direct relevance to lesbians and gays, although you’d never realize it simply from taking a casual tour of them. Did you know, for example, that Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde once socialized together in a small house in Camden, New Jersey? Or that that one of America’s most famous presidential first ladies shared her estate with a prominent lesbian couple? Here’s a queer perspective on five notable historic sites and museums in the eastern United States, from literary salons to rock-and-roll shrines.

Pittsfield, Mass.
Between the small industrial city of Pittsfield and the fancy summer resort village of Lenox, the famous 19th-century author Herman Melville lived in a sturdy 1780s farmhouse with stunning views of Massachusetts’ highest point, 3,500-foot Mt. Greylock. Today the house, Arrowhead, contains a museum dedicated to this brilliant and complex writer, whose epic novel Moby-Dick remains one of the English language’s most widely recognized works.

Though married, Melville appears to have been ambivalent about his sexuality throughout his life, having developed intense friendships with several men. He expressed a deep and apparently unrequited affection for his Berkshires contemporary Nathaniel Hawthorne, who considered him a good friend but nothing more. And several of Melville’s novels include often obvious queer subtexts, especially Billy Budd, which was later adapted by Benjamin Britten and E.M. Forster into a decidedly homoerotic opera.

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Arrowhead contains no references to Melville’s possible homosexuality, but it does give a strong sense of the author’s life and some of his inspirations, from his work study that faced Mt. Greylock to the porch Melville appended to the north side of the house – it later became the inspiration for the short story “The Piazza.” Melville’s accounts of his life and marriage are rather melancholy – he wrote with far greater fondness of his early years spent among men during long journeys at sea; there he earned a living as a merchant sailor. Despite later achieving considerable literary prowess, Melville never earned quite enough from writing to support his family. In 1862 he sold Arrowhead to his brother and moved to New York City, where for the next two decades he led a Bartleby-like existence as a customs inspector.

Nearby in downtown Pittsfield, you can further explore the author’s life at the Herman Melville Memorial Room of the Berkshire Athenaeum. The collection contains early photos, manuscripts and letters, books, and personal belongings of the author.

Cleveland
Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of FameDesigned by I.M. Pei and opened in 1986, the pyramidal Rock and Roll Hall of Fame strikes quite the pose over Cleveland’s Lake Erie shorefront. This well-attended museum offers an invigorating study of the music that has defined American pop culture over the past half-century. On display you can examine such colorful memorabilia as Janis Joplin’s psychedelically painted Porsche and Little Richard’s black jacket, complete with colorful appliqués.

In fact, plenty of bisexual, gay, or ambiguous musicians are enshrined here, among them Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Elton John, David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, Lou Reed, and Freddie Mercury. Another exhibit lists the 500 songs “that shaped rock and roll.” Queer faves on this roster include Culture Club’s “Time,” Husker Du’s “Turn On The News,” Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First,” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” With apologies to the Polka Hall of Fame in suburban Euclid, this is Cleveland’s only certifiable must-see attraction.

Philadelphia
During the first half of the 20th century, brothers A.S.W. and Philip Rosenbach operated Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Company, then the nation’s foremost dealership of rare books and manuscripts. Not much has been written about the brothers’ personal lives, but many historians in the City of Brotherly Love speculate that at least one of these fellows was gay. Philip died shortly after his brother in 1953, and their stunning 1860s town house around the corner from Philadelphia’s posh Rittenhouse Square is now the Rosenbach Museum and Library, a fascinating – if idiosyncratic – collection of 130,000 manuscripts (including James Joyce’s Ulysses and several Joseph Conrads), 25,000 rare books, numerous works by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, and a dazzling collection of antiques that includes Herman Melville’s bookcase.

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Different items are set out at different times, but one permanent exhibit displays the re-created Greenwich Village living room of the lesbian poet and modernist icon Marianne Moore (1887-1972). The Rosenbach Museum owns nearly all of Moore’s papers and manuscripts, including her correspondences with queer poets Elizabeth Bishop and Langston Hughes. In February 2002 the Rosenbach began a comprehensive restoration and expansion – it’s a good idea to call ahead and confirm hours, as this work should continue for several months.

Camden, N.J.
Just across the river from Philadelphia, in the New Jersey city of Camden, you can visit the small Walt Whitman House, where the poet lived from the mid- 1870s until his death in 1892. Here he entertained kindred spirits, including Thomas Carpenter and Thomas Eakins, and he penned his most noteworthy poem, “Leaves of Grass.”

In January 1882, before he would be brought down by scandals concerning his gay relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde also called on Whitman at his Camden home. For about two hours the pair of them kicked back in the drawing room together, chatting about their respective literary aspirations and sipping elderberry wine. According to Wilde’s biographer Richard Ellman, things may have gotten a little frisky – Wilde later bragged about leaving his new friend’s domicile still with the “kiss of Walt Whitman” on his lips. These days the museum contains mementos and letters written by the famous scribe.

The Camden-Philadelphia connection is a notorious site of homophobic grandstanding: In the early 1950s, the Catholic Diocese of Camden and a handful of righteous New Jersey politicians led a strident letter-writing campaign against naming a new bridge across the Delaware River after the queer poet. These efforts failed, and since 1957 the Walt Whitman Bridge has carried millions of travelers driving along Interstate 76 over the Delaware River.

Hyde Park, N.Y.
About 100 miles up the Hudson River from New York City, close to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, you can visit the only national historic site dedicated to a presidential first lady, the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, which she called Val-Kill. Even during her husband’s lifetime, this passionate and articulate stateswoman retreated frequently to her small country property a few miles east of the official Roosevelt compound, Springwood. In fact, it was FDR’s idea to build a small cottage in 1924 where Eleanor could get away from it all with her very close friends, Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman, a lesbian couple famously influential in New York Democratic political circles. Letters and second-hand accounts now support the theory that Eleanor Roosevelt herself had a lengthy lesbian relationship with an Associated Press political journalist named Lorena Hickok.

The property consisted of a stone cottage, in which Cook and Dickerman ultimately resided for some 30 years, and – just a few yards away – a rather plain stucco building that had originally housed a small furniture- making factory. Following the death of FDR in 1945, Eleanor moved permanently into the stucco structure at Val-Kill, and here she resided until her death in 1962. She apparently continued to see a great deal of Lorena Hickok, who lived in her own cottage in Hyde Park until she passed away in 1968.

Val-Kill today contains a smattering of the Eleanor Roosevelt’s personal belongings – the majority of them were auctioned off during the years following her death. Nevertheless, a walk through this simple, unpretentious house brings visitors remarkably close to the spirit of this determined woman who spoke out against racism, sexism, McCarthyism, and every other unjust “ism” long before these stances were popular with even left-leaning American audiences.

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Charleston

Andrew Collins
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Charleston

This charming metropolis offers visitors plenty to see and do

The quintessentially Old South city of Charleston has begun drawing increasing numbers of gay and lesbian visitors in recent years. Readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine rank it among the top U.S. leisure destinations. Indeed, this charming metropolis offers visitors plenty to see and do. Historic house-museums, sophisticated restaurants, renowned galleries, a first-rate lineup of cultural events and festivals, and a few convivial nightlife venues have helped to turn this Colonial-era gem into the cultural anchor of the Carolina Lowcountry.

If you’ve spent time on Caribbean islands like Barbados or St. Thomas, Charleston’s pastel-hued Colonial buildings, with their trademark broad piazzas, may look familiar. The city’s sunny palm-lined streets, water views, and nonstop bustle also recall a festive island village. Meeting Street runs the length of the Historic District and contains many of the city’s top attractions.

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The Historic Charleston Foundation is ground zero for information on local architecture and house tours. Specifically, the foundation sponsors a month-long Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens in mid-March through mid-April, during which gaggles of Garden Club ladies and Southern queens descend upon the city’s most beautiful homes. The other major event is the Spoleto Festival, which offers two weeks worth of first-rate opera, dance, theater, music, poetry readings, visual arts exhibitions, and other cultural festivities at venues throughout the area. It runs from late May through early June.

Year-round you can tour either of two foundation-operated museums, the 1817 Aiken-Rhett House and the 1808 Nathaniel Russell House. From the latter you can walk a few blocks south to Waterfront Park, a grassy tree-filled plot of land with gardens and an adjacent promenade overlooking the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers. Be sure to walk back up toward town by way of East Bay Street, which is lined with mansions of every 18th- and 19th-century ilk.

Other leading attractions on Meeting Street include the Gibbes Museum of Art, which opened in 1905 and stages excellent exhibitions as well as showcasing a 7,000-piece permanent collection, and the Charleston Museum, which opened in 1773, making it the oldest museum in America. Meeting, King, and Bay streets all have their share of both high-quality and borderline-tacky gift and antiques shops, but the best shopping is had at the dozens of crafts stalls found inside the covered Old City Market, opposite which are several restaurants.

The city played an important role in the American Revolution but is probably best remembered for its early role in the Civil War. Today Fort Sumter Tours offers boat excursions out to Fort Sumter National Monument, the 19th-century fort on which the first shot of the war was fired on April 12, 1861.

No visit to Charleston is complete without a side trip to one of the imposing plantations. Consider the 1740s Drayton Hall, the only extant antebellum mansion along the Ashley River (it’s unfurnished, however); and Middleton Place, a 1741 spread whose colorful gardens are the oldest in the country.

Charleston specializes in Lowcountry cuisine, which blends soul, Creole, and traditional Southern recipes and takes advantage of the region’s bounty of local seafood. One of the best restaurants in the region, Peninsula Grill recalls the vibe of an elegant, vintage supper club and serves such innovative fare as skillet-seared Carolina mountain trout with mango brown butter sauce and sundried tomato-grits. The same owners operate nearby Hank’s, a similarly esteemed restaurant that specializes in delicious retro fare, such as shrimp and grits, plus broiled and fried seafood platters. Head to Slightly North of Broad (aka “S.N.O.B.”) for delicious yet relatively affordable New Southern cooking with flawless service and several seats facing directly into the high-tech kitchen.

Another of the city’s purveyors of reinvented Southern fare is Anson, which is housed within a handsome former warehouse and serves such revelatory creations as cornmeal-dusted okra with chili oil and goat cheese, and fried double-cut pork chop with potato puree, collard greens, and creamy onion gravy. Set in an intimate 1837 house in the Upper King Street neighborhood, the aptly named Fish serves first-rate seafood at reasonable prices. Try roasted-corn-and-crawfish chowder, followed by mahimahi with butternut squash puree, shiitake-mushroom-and-sherry reduction.

Just down the street, grab dessert at Cupcake, a diminutive storefront that bakes unbelievably rich and moist cupcakes in about 25 tantalizing flavors, including red velvet and banana-butterscotch. A favorite restaurant with the gay community is Vickery’s, the Charleston outpost of a popular Atlanta restaurant that serves such tasty and affordable Caribbean, Cuban, and Lowcountry cooking as grilled jerk chicken, black bean cakes, and fried-green-tomato turnovers.

Charleston’s gay nightlife is limited, but the few options are friendly and fun. The two main gay nightspots, operated by the same owner, sit a couple of doors from each other, just off the increasingly gentrified upper end of King Street – about a 15-minute walk north of the heart of the historic Market Street area. Of the two, convivial Dudley’s Pub is the best spot to mingle with friends or meet new ones. It consists of an attractive little bar up front and a pool room in back. The larger venue is Pantheon, a hopping dance club with go-go dancers, a DJ spinning pulsing music, and drag shows some evenings. The remaining gay option is Patrick’s Pub & Grill, a friendly neighborhood spot that’s a 15-minute drive from downtown. You’ll find all kinds of fun theme nights here, from Disco Inferno Wednesdays to female-impersonation cabarets on Saturdays.

When it comes to choosing a place to stay in Charleston, keep in mind that rates are among the highest in the Southeast, typically averaging $200 to $350 a night, but accommodations here are among the most sumptuous and romantic in the country. Take comfort, however, if you’re looking to save a little money – the city is represented by virtually every chain hotel you can think of. The Hampton Inn Charleston Historic District is one of the nicest moderately priced options, and it’s a short walk from gay nightlife.

Among the top-of-the-line lodgings, the very gay-friendly Market Pavilion Hotel has become a clear favorite since it opened in 2002, just a stone’s throw from the historic City Market. This stately 70-room boutique hotel offers plenty of stylish touches, from Hermes bath amenities to museum-quality paintings and artwork. There’s also a rooftop bar and pool affording panoramic views of Charleston’s historic skyline. On the ground floor, be sure to plan a meal at the hotel’s Grill 225 restaurant, where tender steaks and decadent desserts (such as banana bread pudding with hot caramel sauce and homemade caramel ice cream) dazzle gourmands.

Another exceptional choice is the painstakingly restored Planters Inn, many of whose luxurious rooms have whirlpool tubs. This dashing hotel sits close to City Market as well as a number of tiny boutiques and antiques shops. One of the city’s most historic options is the John Rutledge House Inn, which has rooms in the main 1763 mansion as well as in two adjacent carriage houses. The romantic, Italianate-style main building was built by a signer of the U.S. Constitution – its rooms, with 13-foot ceilings and elaborate plaster moldings, are supremely opulent, but those in the adjoining carriage houses offer a bit more privacy.

Operated by the owners of the John Rutledge House Inn and another similarly outstanding property (the Fulton Lane inn), the Kings Courtyard is a historic Charleston inn just an 11 minutes walk from the beach and 3 minutes from the City Market. Guests can enjoy complimentary wine or sherry on arrival and a morning newspaper delivered to the room.

The city’s one gay-owned B&B, 4 Unity Alley, is a gem hidden down a tiny alley off historic Bay Street. This 18th-century former colonial warehouse, in which George Washington is said to have housed his horse for a night, contains airy, light-filled rooms with fine antiques. Keep in mind that the four guest rooms here often book up quickly – it’s wise to make your reservations well in advance. Guests can relax in a sunny garden, and off-street parking and a full breakfast are included in the rates.

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A Guide to Northampton

Andrew Collins
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A Guide to Northampton

This once-quiet college town has been dubbed “Lesbianville, USA”

One wonders what Calvin Coolidge, were he alive today, would think of Northampton, Massachusetts. Long before his unremarkable ascent to the nation’s presidency, Coolidge practiced law and local politics in this once-quiet college town on the fringes of Western Massachusetts’ picturesque Berkshire hills. Northampton’s not so quiet these days. Some years back the community was dubbed “Lesbianville, USA” in a typically subtle headline run by America’s popular tabloid, the National Enquirer. The article’s subtitle, “10,000 cuddling, kissing lesbians” suggested, with near apocalyptic urgency, a town overwhelmed by sapphic swarms of these affectionate face-sucking creatures.

Of course, a good many of the lesbians in town got a kick out of the momentary stir created both by the tabloid article and a feature on TV’s 20/20, which also investigated this mind-boggling phenomenon: Many, many lesbians living more or less harmoniously together in a seemingly ordinary New England town. In fact, a walk through downtown Northampton reveals a pleasant enclave of trendy restaurants, urbane shops, and worldly denizens. Same-sex couples and rainbow bumper stickers are commonplace, but lesbians are not quite the formidable army dreamt up in the pages of the Enquirer.

Northampton continues to evolve from merely a great place to live to one of New England’s top gay and lesbian vacation destinations. It’s in the heart of central Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, a region rich with history, outdoors activities, culture, and fine shopping and dining. And it’s just 30 miles east of the Berkshires, a region famous for its art galleries, music festivals, and chichi restaurants and country inns. The town and the surrounding area are also home to a sizable population of gay men – the area truly defies pigeonholing, with one of the most eclectic social scenes you’ll ever find: lesbians and gays, students and professors, empty nesters, artists and musicians, self-employed professionals and telecommuters, and young families.

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The charming campus of Smith College, one of five institutions of higher learning in the immediate area, is poised on a hill above the Northampton’s historic commercial district. Smith, and nearby Mt. Holyoke, admit only women; the college’s presence in Northampton has clearly helped foster a climate where feminism, enlightened politics, and tolerance prevail (Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan are among Smith’s most distinguished alums).

Visitors typically take advantage of the community’s outstanding, and often queer-oriented, fine- and performing-arts offerings, including myriad galleries and live-music venues, excellent regional theater, and one of the oldest opera houses in the country, the Academy of Music, which presents art films and live music and theater. In winter there’s cross-country and downhill skiing just minutes away; in fall you can view splendid foliage; and in spring and summer there’s hiking, horseback riding, and swimming throughout the region. Locals also blade, pedal, or jog along the 8-mile Norwottuck Rail trail, a paved-over railroad bed that passes through town.

Another great diversion is wandering around Smith’s campus, perhaps admiring the Lyman Plant House and the glorious botanic gardens, or rocking back and forth on the rope swing featured in the film adaptation of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – it was shot on campus in 1966 (much of The Cider House Rules was also filmed around town). Definitely check out the magnificent Smith College Museum of Art, a striking contemporary facility that was completely redesigned in 2003. This is a first-rate museum with a permanent collection that includes works by Picasso, Cezanne, Copley, Cassatt, and many other notables.

Most of the great restaurants and shops fall within the walkable downtown – be sure to stop by Pride & Joy, which offers a full range of Pride items, books, gifts, and the like. And also browse the many funky shops inside Thorne’s Marketplace, a multistory former department store that now houses about two dozen offbeat boutiques and shops. In the building’s basement level, Herrell’s has received countless praise and awards for its gooey, rich homemade ice cream that’s offered in all kinds of unusual flavors, from malted vanilla to cinnamon-nutmeg to “Elvis’s Favorite” (banana ice cream with peanut-butter swirl).

Virtually every restaurant in town is queer-friendly to some degree, and there are more standouts than can be named here. At the high end, consider Del Ray Bar and Grill, a snazzy bistro with delicious contemporary American food – try the cumin-and-coriander-dusted ahi tuna or goat-cheese topped portobello-mushroom “steak,” and note the impressive wine list. The same owners run the successful Italian eatery, Spoleto, as well as a fantastic pizza joint called Pizzeria Paradiso, where you can sample pies with such tasty toppings as fennel sausage, calamari, and artichoke hearts. The Green Street Cafe specializes in cutting-edge contemporary fare served in a warm, romantic atmosphere – it’s steps from Smith’s campus and serves a fine Sunday brunch, too.

For excellent regional southwestern and Mexican food that’s far superior to what you’ll often find in the Northeast, check out La Cazuela. Try Paul and Elizabeth’s if you’re seeking gourmet veggie and seafood cuisine, and for hearty comfort food and tasty microbrews, head to the Northampton Brewery, which is also a lively place to drink and people-watch. As with any cool college town, Northampton has a few excellent coffeehouses, with the Haymarket Cafe among the best. Here you can nosh on chocolate-cream-cheese cupcakes, butterscotch creme brulee, and goat cheese and black olive tapenade sandwiches, and sip lattes or tea while pecking away on your laptop or reading a good book.

Northampton isn’t a huge hub of gay nightlife, but the one gay club in town, Diva’s, is quite popular with students and a mostly 35-and-under crowd, and several of the mainstream nightspots in town have a strong community following. Diva’s is a large second-floor space on the outskirts of downtown – there’s a decent-size dance floor, and in good weather you can relax on the spacious patio. Queer-popular performers often play at the Iron Horse or at the larger Calvin Theatre. The popular Pearl Street Nightclub also books great entertainment and is an appealing place in town for drinks or dancing. There are few more convivial places to munch on pub fare and socialize in a totally mixed gay/straight setting than Fitzwilly’s, an old-fashioned tavern that’s been a fixture downtown for decades.

As Northampton’s cachet with tourists grows, new accommodations continue to pop up, both in town and elsewhere in the Pioneer Valley. Among larger properties, the Hotel Northampton occupies a stately 1927 building in the heart of downtown – it’s the most opulent accommodation in the area, with an excellent on-site restaurant, too. A short drive from town, the gay-friendly Clarion Hotel & Conference Center has clean, comfortable rooms, a reputable steak house, and indoor and outdoor pools.

In nearby Easthampton, you’ll find two charmingly furnished rooms at the gay-friendly McKinley House Bed and Breakfast, an attractive turn-of-the-20th-century house on a peaceful residential street. A tempting full breakfast is served in the morning. About 20 miles north of town, the gay-owned Brandt House is a luxurious white Colonial Revival estate on a bluff in historic Greenfield. It contains a mix of cushy suites and standard rooms, all with massive featherbeds and museum-quality antiques; a couple of rooms have working fireplaces and many have whirlpool tubs. Stroll the tree-shaded grounds, relax on the rear terrace, or take to the clay tennis court – this place is bliss defined.

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Exploring Richmond and Charlottesville

Andrew Collins
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Exploring Richmond and Charlottesville

Conservative Virginia has surprisingly much to offer gay visitors

Virginia, with its reputation for conservative political and religious views, doesn’t always strike gays and lesbians as a likely place to plan a vacation. But while it’s been home to right-wing ideologues like George Allen, Pat Robertson, Ollie North, and Jerry Falwell, this state famed for its natural scenery offers several great reasons for visiting. Progressive and attractive Charlottesville is steeped in history and abounds with hip eateries, antiques shops, and attractive, hilly terrain. And the deeply Southern and proper capital, Richmond, is interior Virginia’s gay hub, and also home to a slew of exceptional museums and historic sites.

Richmond – a hilly, tree-shaded city of about 200,000 residents – sits on a bluff over the James River. Its historic downtown, with a thoroughly modern skyline, is anchored by one of the South’s most imposing and visually dramatic government buildings, the Virginia State Capitol (it’s open daily for free tours). If sightseeing interests you, allow at least a couple days just to see the city’s highlights – there are several excellent museums and intriguing neighborhoods. Among the top attractions, check out Maymont Estate, with its fabulous gardens and ornately decorated mansion; the Richmond History Center, with changing exhibits on the city’s 400-year heritage; and the John Marshall House, the home of one of colonial America’s foremost statesmen.

Just west of downtown, the Fan is a gracious neighborhood of neatly preserved, mostly redbrick, 19th-century houses. You’ll also find the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, and the grand and distinguished Monument Avenue. For several blocks this broad road with a grassy median is lined with statues of Confederate icons. More recently, amid considerable controversy, a statue of the black tennis star Arthur Ashe – a Richmond native who died of AIDS in 1993 – was erected along the avenue.

Quite a few gays and lesbians reside in the Fan, but the gay community is even more visible in the neighborhood just west, Carytown. Here, Cary Street and several cross streets are lined with cafes and boutiques, including Soap, a whimsical shop that carries fine bath products, and Urban Artifacts, know for hip home decor and accessories. Be sure to visit Carytown’s highly respected Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which pop-culture junkies adore for its Triple Elvis by Andy Warhol.

There’s plenty of good eating in this neighborhood. Java addicts get their fix at Capital Coffee and Desserts, a cute sidewalk cafe with toothsome calorie-laden cookies and cakes. New York Delicatessen & Restaurant serves hefty sandwiches and filling breakfasts (despite the name, this is a full-service sit-down restaurant with a liquor license), and Bev’s is worth a stop for such memorable flavors of homemade ice cream as candy-cane and Almond Joy. Pre- and post-club-goers frequent the gay-popular, neon-infused Galaxy Diner.

Among Richmond’s more upscale gay-friendly restaurants, don’t miss the handsome Can Can Brasserie, a favorite gay date venue serving superbly prepared French fare, from traditional coq au vin to braised short ribs with roasted butternut squash, braised celery, chestnuts, and a port-wine reduction. Bacchus is another excellent eatery near Carytown, known for a creative wine list and such tempting Mediterranean cooking as sauteed calamari with olive oil, lemon, and capers; and seared sea scallops with prosciutto and truffle oil.

Richmond’s vintage riverfront areas, the warehouse district of Shockoe Slip and the neighboring commercial sector of Shockoe Bottom, have been brought dramatically back to life in recent years after floods and disuse blighted these parts of town during much of the previous century. Now you’ll find nightclubs, galleries, and restaurants – plus a provocative arts scene. For dinner, try River City Diner, which serves retro contemporary American cuisine, or Pomegranate Euro Bistro, where you can sup on grilled lamb chops over porcini-mushroom risotto, or pan-seared halibut with a broth of littleneck clams and fava beans.

Many gays and lesbians have had a hand in revitalizing the historic Church Hill area, just east of Shockoe Bottom, which abounds with stately Greek Revival, Victorian, and Federal homes. One off-the-beaten-path excursion worth the effort is a visit to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens at Bloemendaal, a few miles northwest of town. Here the estate once owned by Patrick Henry and developed by Ginter, the founder of the American Tobacco Company, now contains the largest public perennial gardens on the East Coast.

Richmond has a well-rounded and friendly nightlife scene. Godfrey’s is a lively downtown spot for dancing, with 18-and-over nights and an entertaining drag brunch on Sunday afternoons – it draws the biggest crowds on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Club Colors ranks among the most popular (predominantly) African-American gay nightclubs on the East Coast.

In Carytown, friendly and attractive Barcode draws a mostly male, preppy crowd to watch camp classics and music videos on the TV monitors, sip cocktails on the patio, and shoot pool. Lesbians and more than a few guys (it’s more male-oriented on Thursdays) frequent Babe’s, a righteously raucous bar and restaurant with a large dance area and some great live-music shows – there’s also a volleyball court out back.

Later on weekend evenings, many revelers end up at Fielden’s, a BYOB after-hours club (open till 6 a.m.) on the edge of the Fan – it’s members only, but visitors are welcome if they pay the membership fee. Z2 is another well-known Carytown option, which has a great reputation for fun cabaret and drag shows.

As for accommodations, if you can swing it financially, stay at the famous Jefferson Hotel, an exceptionally striking turreted building – an amalgam of exotic styles – that dates to 1895 and is a hallmark of Southern grace and gentility. If nothing else, admire the swanky lobby with its 70-foot stained-glass rotunda and grand staircase, or dine in the hotel’s chichi Lemaire Restaurant. A bit less expensive, the modern mid-rise Omni Richmond sits in the center of downtown, close to the bars and restaurants of Shockoe Bottom.

About an hour west of Richmond, the charming collegiate city of Charlottesville – famous for the regal, Jeffersonian campus of the University of Virginia – has arguably the most visible gay community in the state. You’ll often see same-sex couples walking about the bustling downtown, or eating in one of the many trendy restaurants. It’s a pleasure to walk around campus, notable for its excellent Bayly Art Museum and the courtly architecture inspired by the school’s founder, Thomas Jefferson. Try to dedicate a full day to explore the enchanting countryside outside of Charlottesville. Just south of town, you can tour Monticello, the former home of President Jefferson, which is a short drive from President James Monroe’s estate, Ash Lawn-Highland.

A favorite activity in town is strolling along the pedestrian-only Historic Downtown Mall, where you’ll find great shopping, as well as the city’s most inviting gay nightlife option, Escafe, which is also a commendable restaurant serving reasonably priced international chow (filet mignon quesadillas, shrimp pot stickers, rigatoni with pancetta). An amusing mural on one wall depicts various locales around Charlottesville, and in warm weather, you can relax on a patio overlooking the pedestrian traffic.

Other excellent restaurants on or near the mall include Ten Sushi, a chic spot with a big-city vibe and such rarefied modern-Asian fare as kobe short ribs with miso sauce, and lobster tempura in sweet-and-pepper garlic aioli – you’ll also find one of the largest sake selections in the country. Blue Light Grill and Raw Bar is similarly sophisticated and serves even better food, including blue-crab salad with sweet-spring peas, and big-eye tuna and foie gras with a sour-cherry sauce. For a casual but delicious lunch or dinner, consider Hamilton’s at First and Main, where the likes of grilled-quail Cobb salad, and smoked pork tenderloin with lemon-chive butter await you.

Mudhouse is the coolest coffeehouse on the mall, with sidewalk seating and free Wi-Fi. Around the corner, have a drink at the gay-friendly X lounge, a slick, postindustrial space with tall windows and high ceilings. This is also a good bet for cocktails, or for a full dinner – the contemporary American cooking is first-rate. The nearby Gravity lounge has something of a LGBT following (including occasional women’s nights on Saturdays). This homey basement space has live folk music and jazz many nights and funky lounge seating. Come for coffee, to surf the Web at the computer terminal, or to sip wine and beer with friends.

Near UVA campus. the lavish Inn at Court Square, which is the oldest structure in downtown Charlottesville, is also extremely gay-friendly. Among the seven rooms, many have whirlpool baths and working fireplaces. For a splurge, check into the Clifton Inn, a posh getaway built in the 18th century – it was once the home of Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. The 14 elegantly furnished rooms occupy several buildings set amid 100 acres of fragrant gardens. The inn’s restaurant serves some of the best food in town, such as “forever-roasted” pork belly with a whipped sauce of golden raisins and cider. If you’re seeking a truly romantic getaway, spending a night or two at Clifton is hard to beat.

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Exploring Cape Town

Andrew Collins
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Exploring Cape Town

Cape Town offers travelers a small but vibrant gay scene

The undisputed gay capital of the African continent, Cape Town has something of the progressive vibe, stunning coastal scenery, and sunny disposition of similarly appealing seaside cities, such as Sydney, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Part of a peninsular region that juts into the Atlantic Ocean along South Africa’s southwestern coast, Cape Town has become increasingly popular with visitors from North America, offering travelers a small but vibrant gay business district and wonderful opportunities for day-tripping along the coast and inland to the lush vineyards and swank country inns of the Winelands regions.

There are some logistical issues to consider when planning a trip to this city, which is about 6,000 miles from London, 8,000 miles from New York City, and 10,000 miles from Los Angeles. It takes up to two days to get here and again to return home, and airfares are quite steep. The good news is that North American and European currency are relatively strong against South African currency, the Rand, meaning that you’ll generally encounter good values in hotels, restaurants, and shops once you’re here.

Related: A Gay Traveler’s Guide to Cape Town

Another thing to keep in mind when traveling such a long distance is that it’s prudent to plan a trip of at least 10 days, and ideally 15 days. South Africa is famous not just for Cape Town and the surrounding area, but also for the safari lodges that proliferate in the wildlife-rich Kruger National Park, in the northeast part of the country. Many visitors plan a trip that includes a week or so in greater Cape Town, and another week in Kruger or at a safari camp in a nearby country, such as Botswana, Namibia, or Zimbabwe.

If you’re going this route, your best strategy is to book your vacation through a reliable tour operator. Consider the highly regarded and very gay-friendly Premier Tours, which is based in Philadelphia and run by South Africa native Julian Harrison. Premier offers a wide range of preplanned itineraries to South Africa and several other African nations, but they can also design a custom itinerary for you. Sales Associate Steve Gleba is Premier Tours’ LGBT travel specialist and can help design a trip that’s geared especially toward staying in gay-friendly or gay-owned accommodations.

No matter how you organize your trip, plan to spend at least half your time in and around Cape Town. Right in the city, there are several attractions of note, including Iziko South African Museum, Iziko South African National Gallery, and Table Mountain, the looming geographical feature that defines the city skyline – you can take an aerial cableway to the top of this 3,500-foot behemoth. It’s also worth spending an afternoon strolling around the V&A Waterfront, with its shops and restaurants, Two Oceans Aquarium (an excellent facility with more than 8,000 sea creatures), and the South African Maritime Museum. You can also take the ferry from here to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years. It’s now a UN World Heritage Site and museum (with tours led by former prisoners).

Allow at least one day to make the drive south of the city along the coast, past such ritzy residential neighborhoods as Camps Bay (with its views of the ocean on one side, and the Twelve Apostle mountains on the other) and Clifton, with its lavish seaside and cliff-top homes. Stop in the bustling, if somewhat touristy, fishing village of Hout Bay (where you can take excursion boats out to the massive seal colony on Duiker Island, or to view whales), and continue south through Simonstown to see Boulders National Park, home to 3,000 jackass penguins (named for the braying, donkey-like noises they make). A boardwalk down along the beach affords up-close encounters with these fascinating animals.

Farther south, a spectacular drive leads to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve, which has good hiking, lofty peaks, spectacular beaches, and interesting wildlife. Beware of the baboons here, who sometimes behave aggressively toward people. If you’re curious about these clever animals, take a walking tour with Baboon Matters, an animal advocacy organization in Glencairn (on the road between Cape Town and Cape of Good Hope preserve). These fascinating tours led by experienced guides take you right into a habitat of relatively tame and approachable baboons.

Back in the city of Cape Town, you’ll find that much of the gay scene revolves around De Waterkant, a compact district of cobblestone streets on the northeastern edge of downtown, not far from the V&A Waterfront. In this little quadrant you’ll find several excellent restaurants and cafes, including atmospheric Anatoli for excellent Turkish cuisine, Andiamo Deli and Restaurant for contemporary Italian fare with attractive patio seating, and Cafe Manhattan, which has live music some nights and is as much a gay bar as a gay restaurant. A more upscale choice on the edge of De Waterkant is the Showroom, a slick, white-on-white space known for some of the most creative modern South African cuisine in the city, plus great people-watching. Stop by Origin for some of the best coffee around – a bohemian atmosphere prevails at this lively cafe.

Cape Town excels when it comes to dining, with other notable options including Fork, a sexy tapas restaurant and lounge, and Jardine, which turns out such dazzlingly innovative fare as confit of roasted guinea fowl with orange-braised endive. In the V&A Waterfront, try gay-friendly Belthazar, a sprawling steakhouse and seafood eatery.

For nightlife, De Waterkant is again your best bet. Head to the Bronx, a cruisy guy’s bar; Bar Code, the city’s top venue for men in leather and uniform; and the Loft Lounge, a hip spot for hobnobbing and cocktails. For lesbians, there’s Lush, a roving Saturday night party that was, as of this writing, taking place at the Junction Cafe – the Lush website has details. Also in De Waterkant you’ll find Cape Town’s popular gay sauna, the Hothouse, an attractive and rather upscale spot with a restaurant, bars, and spotless cabins and common facilities. Of particular note is a sundeck affording superb views of the city.

Greater Cape Town abounds with gay-friendly inns and B&Bs – there are plenty of worthwhile options in a variety of price ranges. The Grand Daddy is a modern boutique hotel in the heart of downtown, close to the many restaurants and shops along the main thoroughfare, Long Street. Rooms are comfy and spacious, and some have small balconies overlooking the street. There’s an excellent restaurant, Veranda, on the second floor.

Among the city’s best guest houses, consider 4 on Varneys, a luxurious six-room inn with a lushly landscaped courtyard and sleek, modern rooms; or the Charles, an intimate property in the heart of De Waterkant. The 12 rooms and four cottages are done with swank furniture and have deep tubs and separate showers. A top choice for lesbians is Colette’s B&B, an affordable and tastefully done two-room inn for women in a suburb just outside of the city center (close to good hiking and wine-tasting).

The Winelands wine country makes for an enjoyable day trip, but if you have time, try to spend a night or two out this way. This verdant, sunny region east of Cape Town is dotted with engaging towns, the most scenic and sophisticated being Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Paarl. The area is known for a distinctive red wine called Pinotage, but it also produces excellent Shiraz, Chardonnay, and many other vintages. One winery worth checking out is Fairview, noted not just for its stellar wine but also for its fantastic gourmet cheeses and garden-side restaurant. For a more intimate experience, drop by Muratie Winery, an small vineyard producing first-rate Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

As is often the case in wine regions, the Winelands has plenty of urbane restaurants and gourmet food and cheese shops. Of particular note is Le Quartier Francais, a foodie mecca for its restaurant, which has made more than a few “best in the world” lists; this Relais & Chateaux country inn also boasts stunning rooms with giant soaking tubs and plenty of cushy amenities. Also in Franschhoek, Mont Rochelle Hotel & Mountain Vineyards offers plush accommodations and excellent food, and nearby Cabriere ranks among the town’s top wineries. If you’re on a bit of a budget, try Franschhoek’s gay-owned Maison Chablis, a warmly furnished seven-room country house with a pool and serene, landscaped grounds.

Stellenbosch, a historic university town with numerous 18th-century buildings done in the region’s enchanting “Cape Dutch” style, also has a number of excellent restaurants, plus great shopping. Consider staying at the charming D’Ouwe Werf 1802, South Africa’s oldest inn – it also has a fine restaurant. Another good choice is gay-friendly Villa Exner, a bit south of Stellenbosch along the region’s scenic “Garden Route.” This posh country estate has spacious rooms with flat-screen TVs, a large outdoor pool, and a restaurant serving acclaimed country fare. At this property, you’re close to the three elements that make this part of the world so special: prolific vineyards, turquoise seas, and emerald mountains.

Related: A Gay Traveler’s Guide to Cape Town

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