The Back Door (Madison, Wisconsin Gay Bar/70's to 80's) Size:S and its own institutions—and The

and its own institutions—and The Lark stood at the center of that history for more than four decades

it quietly earned cult status

It’s wearable art history

sipping cocktails in the piano bar

dark corners

The Back Door (Madison, Wisconsin Gay Bar/70's to 80's) Size:S and its own institutions—and TheThe Back Door, Madisons first openly gay bar, located at 46 N. Park Street. Opened in 1972 by Rodney Scheel, it boldly claimed its nameand its identityat a time when few LGBTQ spaces could do so openly. More than a nightlife venue, The Back Door was a community hearthevolving through phases as a bar, restaurant, piano bar, dance club, and refuge for recently liberated queer people and their allies. Patrons entered through its literal "back door," a