Skipper is one of the few who remember the era when the city’s multiple clubs attracted patrons from Charleston, Greenville, Charlotte and Atlanta. The number peaked in the mid-80s through mid-90s, when 13 different such clubs spotted the city. Through discussions with bar owners and patrons and analyzing records from Historic Columbia, The Carolina News and Reporter uncovered a strange statistic: Columbia, in 2022, has only those two gay bars, the lowest number in the city since 1960. Just around the corner is PT’s 1109, the city’s other gay bar, which opened in 2000. The Capital Club, or simply “Capital,” as patrons call it, is the oldest operating gay bar in Columbia, and according to its website, in the Southeast. “We’d have loved to have had that (freedom), but we all drink from wells we didn’t dig.” “The kids now, I love the freedom they feel. He likes to tell younger people about The Capital Club’s early days, a very different - and fraught - time to be in a gay bar in South Carolina. He has been president since the year it opened in 1980. The 74 year old is the president of The Capital Club and one of its founding members. “Grandma” is otherwise known as Bill Skipper. When he can, he stays late to watch the drag shows and the younger crowds they bring. “Grandma” comes everyday for happy hour, sitting with other old-timers.
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