Shane Ray wasn’t a frequent bar patron.
Growing up Southern Baptist, Ray also wasn’t familiar with the LGBTQ+ community until he met someone who helped him understand his emotions. Even then, no one around him understood or affirmed his identity.
Ray describes himself as a “wallflower” who is invisible among crowds.
But when his best friend, Dalton Haynes, asked for his help with the 1851 Club four years ago, he accepted. Now, Ray is the bar manager of the only gay club in Arlington.
Located at 931 West Division St., the bar provides a space for LGBTQ+ members to find community through trivia nights, drag performances and events — which, in turn, helps them find themselves.
“This isn't just a bar to a lot of people,” Ray said. “It's also a home for a lot of people who don't have anywhere else to go.”
‘This is where my friends are’
On a Friday evening, bartender Kristopher Godinez ecstatically bounced around the bar on his day off. He greeted guests, caught up with friends and supported the night’s drag performers.
It’s almost hard to believe that Godinez didn’t have many people he could call friends growing up.
“This is where my friends are. And friendship has become so important in my life,” he said.
Through bartending, Godinez meets people every day who may not have anybody, so to him it’s important to bring them in and watch them bloom.
“We've got a philosophy that our job here really is to facilitate friendship because it's been so important to us and our personal journeys and happiness,” Godinez said.
The 1851 Club is where owner Haynes hopes people can find friends within five minutes, no matter their walk of life, he said.
“I was that kid. I was that person that needed a place to go when I didn't know where to go or had nowhere to go,” he said. “It's important for me to provide that for other people.”
‘Everyone needs a congregation place’
Relationships and memories led Haynes to buy the 1851 Club.
The bar is dedicated to his grandma, Sherry Boling, whose life was full of love and acceptance, he said. Boling was a frequent 1851 patron who attended poker nights on Mondays and was loved by all the regulars. She died 15 days before the bar announced its closure in 2020.
Haynes did not plan to own a bar, he said. But when he prayed for a sign, God answered.
“I knew that we couldn't let those memories that all of us had made here, everyone has made here, go like that,” Haynes said.
The bar has received an outpouring of love and support from the community, with loyal regulars and new customers who find the venue in unexpected ways.
The bar, initially named the Arlington 651, was first opened in 1983 under the same owner of another LGBTQ+ bar in Fort Worth, known as the Rainbow Lounge. When they decided to sell the venue, the staff rallied to buy the bar and a new legacy was born. The bar was renamed the 1851 Club, in 2001, as an homage to its original location at 1851 West Division St.
Years ago, people couldn’t feel safe, bartender Carlie Jackson said. However, 1851 provided a place to find like-minded individuals and have conversations you couldn’t have anywhere else.
As a pansexual transgender woman, Jackson yearned for a community when her best friend brought her to 1851 in 2005. There she found it and hasn’t left since.
The moment the 1851 West Division St. location went up for lease, a church bought it, hoping to keep the gay community out of the area. It didn’t work, Jackson said. The bar moved to its current location down the road in 2013.
“Everyone needs a congregation place. Now everyone says, ‘Why a gay bar for that? Why can't they go to a regular bar?’ Well, let's face it. Some gays go into a regular bar and they don’t feel comfortable. They feel judged. They feel alienated. They feel that's not their environment, that’s not their space, so they leave,” Jackson said.
The bar moved closer to UTA and a police station, shifting the traffic to younger crowds, allowing more space and increasing the sense of safety, said Eric Criner, DJ and karaoke host. The original location was hidden in a dark area, so passersby would not know how vibrant it was inside.
“We really got to take the chance to revamp [1851] to make it a little more on the cutting edge,” Criner said.
When you step back and see Arlington grow as an entertainment hub and draw international communities, it was time for the city to be more open, he said. The city recently hosted its third Pride celebration.
“It really makes a difference and it really shows that Arlington is moving forward in their thoughts and actions,” Criner said.
Around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, the 1851 Club hosts drag performances from local drag queens. Behind every show, Criner directs the audio and staging, showcasing performers in their best light.
Drag queen Dulce Strutts grew up in Houston, but it wasn’t until she entered the local drag scene that she found her community. Eight years into her drag career, Strutts has called 1851 home for the past two. It’s a privilege, she said.
Strutts recalled a time when the power went out and the customers rallied together, lighting candles throughout the bar, to support the performers and ensure the show happened.
“It's really nice to see the community all come together to just have a good time,” she said. “That is a really unique experience that you can only find here.”
Drag queen Dulce Strutts enters the stage during the All-Star Drag Show on June 14 at 1851 Club. The artistry of transformation drew Strutts to drag.
Drag at 1851 Club is about tradition, Haynes said. Many of his friends perform at the bar and he wants to be able to take care of them.
“It's always been a drag bar since it first started 40 to 50 years ago and I will never let that die,” Haynes said.
‘You have the answer to yourself at the end of the day’
At 42, Criner is still figuring things out.
Criner is not out to his family. He holds small circles that don’t tend to intersect and only comes out to those he’s comfortable with. Until his late 20s, Criner spent years repressing his thoughts and didn’t attend any clubs. The 1851 Club was his first gay bar experience.
“I did get to the point where I felt like I was tearing myself apart because you can only play a certain character for so long,” he said.
But it’s 2024 and there is no reason anyone shouldn’t feel that sense of belonging, he said.
“That's what matters. You have the answer to yourself at the end of the day,” Criner said.
Ray came from a background where he felt he never belonged and he didn’t understand why. As he’s grown into himself, he said it's endearing to see others able to express themselves, especially in the later stages of life.
The bar is worth protecting because of the connections people create at the bar, it’s a space to find family, Ray said.
“The community that has made that a reality, it's important to protect it for them because they're the ones who have set that precedent,” Ray said.
Over the past two decades, Criner has seen 1851 shift locations, owners and navigate through a pandemic, he said.
“We, as 1851, try to make this a safe place. A place that's welcoming to everybody under the sun,” he said.
At 2 a.m., the bar was supposed to close, but people didn’t want to leave. They kept dancing. They continued to chat among one another. Drag queens sat on the back patio with patrons.
At the 1851 Club, hugs are the only greeting and tips are compulsory.
And by the end of the night, you may find more friends than you came with.
@trinhvchristine
