The Carousel Story

by Samuel Lowe

(Posted with permission)

Foundations

by Samuel Lowe

Tonight I am posting an image of something that was greater than myself, and that of course, was The Carousel nightclub located at 1501 White Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. This building was home to Knoxville's LGBT Community from 1972-2013.

This was also my home from September 1984 until May of 1992. It helped to shape me and it gave me the experience and knowledge that I would later need to own and manage my own businesses. I also changed it and helped to define it's character so that it might go on into the future.

There were generations of gay folk who passed through it's doors before me and generations who followed my time there. Most of them I do not know, but I believe that The Carousel was home for them too.

Welcome to the story of The Carousel. It is mostly an oral one (no pun intended), which was related too me by several voices from remembrances past. If anyone out there knows better, please feel free to correct any error in my words or to comment and add to our story. I have always been one eager to learn.

The Formative Years 1972-1976:

I can only speak second hand about the formative period of The Carousel's history because I had not yet moved to Knoxville. I was out of the country at this time, serving with the US Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, aboard the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). My account here is based solely on the recollections of James S. (whom we mostly remember as the beloved drag queen Bubbles La Rue); on the memories of, Stacey B., who worked as a waiter and as a bartender at the club; on text messages from Bill L., who ran the door in the early days and on conversations with Barbara P., who worked as a bartender from 1975-1978, and then returned a second time in 1988 when she became hostess and emcee for the upstairs shows until 1990. There are other survivors among us, too; such as Tony Cooper, John P. and Jo Ann B., who prefer to remain silent.

In the beginning, The Carousel building was divided into four separate spaces which housed 4 different businesses. The right-hand side of the downstairs was home to a rowdy pool hall known as Varsity Billiards. The entry door was directly beneath Vic and Bill's (the restaurant side of the building). Varsity Billiards was a popular hangout for both college students and for rednecks as well. On the left-hand side of the downstairs, one could be served at a gentleman's lounge. This side was known as The Barrister. If I am not mistaken, Joe-Jo Ann B. worked at The Barrister as a waitress and then later carried over to The Carousel. Hopefully, she will enrich our tale by adding some comments about this experience?

The right-hand side of the upstairs of the building was home to a cafe. It was situated in the same space that Vic and Bill's later filled. I believe it was referred to as University Place. The left hand-side of the upstairs was known as The End Zone Lounge. It featured hot female strippers who performed on a three tiered, pie-slice shaped, stage. The entry door to The End Zone is the one near the white Miata, shown below in the first photograph.

The upstairs and the downstairs were completely separated at this time, except for a very narrow stairway in the back of the building. Although the Carousel building was divided into four distinct spaces, each housing it's own unique business; together, they laid the footprint for what was to become Knoxville's most legendary nightclub.

The Barrister lounge was a straight bar intended to be a congregation place for folks attending UT law school, which was located just across the street. However, what seemed to be a good idea, proved to be unsuccessful. Most of the upcoming lawyers were too busy with their studies and rarely went out to party, even on the weekend. The Barrister soon found itself in a struggle for survival. In a desperate attempt to save the business, the manager of The Barrister reached out to drag queens from The Hide-A-Way club (located downtown) and invited them to perform at his establishment. This attempt to help the business failed miserably and The Barrister soon closed, leaving an empty space in the White Avenue building.

The invitation to the HIde-A-Way drag queens did not help The Barrister, but it did pique the interest of one individual in Knoxville's gay community. This man's name was Chuck A. Chuck realized that this was an opportunity to bring to fruition a dream which he had been harboring for quite sometime. Acting quickly, he contacted the owner of the building, whose name is Harry Oxendine (Wimpy), and then he leased the space. Chuck not only leased the space formerly occupied by The Barrister; he also changed it's name to The Carousel Club. So, in the fall of 1972, The Carousel was born and Chuck Allred was it's owner.

Want to learn more about our story? Visit VoicesOutLoudOfficialGroup page here on Facebook. One can learn about important events, post photos of themselves or friends and share memories. Let's make history together!

Also visit our "gurl" friends at Knoxville Drag History here on Facebook. See Queens from the past, present and future. Post pics of yourself or of your friends all dolled up! Let's play dress up together!

Wish to know more about Knoxville's most legendary nightclub named The Carousel? Visit The Carousel Story - A History of Knoxville's LGBTQ Community here on Facebook. Learn about the past and share your own experience at this legendary nightspot. Let's go clubbing together1

Can you help solve the murder mystery of Joseph Weir? Joseph was a prominent gay hair dresser and nightclub owner in Knoxville. He was viciously murdered at his home during the Thanksgiving Holidays of 1981. Learn about this tragic event and post tips that may help bring his murderer(s) to justice. Visit Who Murdered Joseph Weir page here on Facebook. Let's solve this cold case together!

Samuel Lowe, the author of these stories, in front of The Carousel II in 1988.

Samantha Starr (later became Bubbles La Rue) who performed at The Hide-A-Way and at The Colony.

Stacy B. worked as waiter, bartender and assistant manager at Carousel II. He has added to our recollections significantly.

"The Look and Feel of Real", Adrienne Sanchez and Kandi Karrington-who entertained at The Colony on two occasions. Circa 1978
Photo courtesy of Barbara P

Timing is Everything

Pictured here are Barbara P. (center) with Kandi K. (L), Francine W.(R) and two males who were entertainers. Kandi was one of the entertainers who worked at The Colony.
Photo courtesy of Barbara P.

by Samuel Lowe

When Chuck opened The Carousel, he set into motion a story of love and devotion, of intrigue and drama, and of jealousy. This story later became a tale of rivalry between both straight and gay business owners alike who vied to control the wealth from the lucrative gay bar business. There are certain bystanders who suggest that this rivalry would end in murder for some of the participants. This is also a story of an alienated community. A community that found refuge in the building located at 1501 White Avenue. This space provided them a place to be open and honest with one another; to openly express emotions towards one another; a place to rejoice in their sameness, and a place to share in a journey of self-discovery. This is the story of a building that became Home to Knoxville's LGBT Community and of how it served as a cornerstone in their history for more than forty years.

The Carousel could not have opened at a better time because The Colony had just recently closed for business and left somewhat of a void in the gay market. The Colony was a very smalll but lavish, bar located near The Blue Circle restaurant and it was not far from The Tennessee Theater on Gay Street. It had a tiny dance area where people would listen to tunes on a jukebox. This bar's atmosphere was somewhat confusing however, since the owner could not fully decide if he wanted to appeal to a straight or to a gay clientele. It was also situated in a risque neighborhood and because of this people were somewhat wary of going there. To further jeopardize it's chance for success, the owner of The Colony became embroiled in a bitter rivalry with The Hide-A-Way lounge over the drag queens who entertained the community.

He initiated this rivalry by soliciting the drag queens who worked at The Hide-A-Way to perform at his club. Some of the entertainers who did perform for him were Samantha Star (Who later became Bubbles La Rue), Kandi K. and Adrienne S. These queens worked for him on two different occasions.

Rose, the owner of The Hide-A-Way felt betrayed by the queens and The Colony. Consequently, she joined forces with The Huddle to bad mouth The Colony and it's ownership. Their combined efforts soon paid off and brought about a complete boycott for the struggling new business. The Colony permanently closed it's doors shortly thereafter.

Although The Colony had just recently closed, The young Carousel had two remaining lounges to compete with in the gay and lesbian market. They were of course The Huddle and The Hide-A-Way, both located downtown. These two clubs had been around for awhile and had been catering, to some degree, to the LGBT Community. Members of the community were familiar with these establishments and they were in the habit of frequenting them.

The original Carousel was tiny. It took up only half of the downstairs of the building. But, it was expensive to operate. Chuck had to be very conservative with his money. He was afterall a mere bus driver who had turned to becoming a business owner. All of the extra funds that Allred had were used to lease the space and to get the necessary alcoholic beverage and business licenses to open the club. Money was also required for a deposit on the utilities and for the telephone services. So, it was necessary for him to run the bar on a shoe-string budget during the first several months.

Certain measures were taken by his staff to keep expenses down. The main entry door and the side windows (four of them altogether on the Ramsey's parking lot side of the building) were sometimes left open and a large exhaust fan located on the rear of the building was used in lieu of an air conditioning system to ventilate and to cool the space. The windows have been bricked in since then but one can only imagine the complaints made about the building being hot! A "portable " sound system (some speakers and a turntable) were brought in nightly by the original deejay (an African-American guy whose name no one can seem to remember) and placed on the flat dance floor. A very humble light show (two black lights and a strobe) gave energy to the tiny dance area. Confronted with having to compete with two other established businesses and with having to open a business and to operate it on a very limited budget, one might question how did the young Carousel manage to survive?

To truly appreciate the uniqueness of The Carousel and the impact it had on the LGBT Community, one needs to allow themselves to drift back in time to the early 1970's. Being gay was quite different then. Homophobia permeated the social fabric. Gays were harassed and scorned by the public. Hate crimes went unpunished. Gay and Lesbian folk knew that just being found out could cost them their job. Society was judgemental and extremely condemning of anyone openly gay. Consequently, most of the community lived in fear and in isolation. Societal values and views of this time period made it a hostile environment for the LGBT Community.

Atmosphere

by Samuel Lowe

The atmosphere of The Carousel's competitors, namely The Huddle and The Hide-A-Way, reflected the social trends of the early 1970's. Even though they served The Community they were far from welcoming in their appeal. These businesses were owned by straight people- A lady named Rose was proprietress at The Hide-A-Way and a man named Joe was the original owner of The Huddle. Gay patrons were allowed to congregate in designated spaces in these bars but most of them were always treated as secondary customers when compared to their straight counterparts. The Hide-A-Way was even divided into two separate floors, the lower one being the straight section of the lounge and the upper floor being the gay section. James Satterfield recalls that when one entered The Hide-A-Way lounge, "you had to watch how you walked, talked, and looked at people. We (the drag queens) had to come through the front door dressed as men, and then go upstairs (where the shows were held) and get dressed as women. After the shows were over, we had to get dressed as men again, and then leave through the downstairs, which was the straight section of The Hide-A-Way, all the while minding how we held ourselves in public. It was a very tense air.", he said. The Huddle, which was located adjacent to the cruise block, had a somewhat friendlier atmosphere, but it was mostly red-neck in its clientele makeup at that time. Both of these bars were far from endearing for gay people.

Their environment was more like a saloon than a nightclub. People would hang out there and socialize. Some patrons of these lounges could be found sitting around a table in a smoke-filled room, playing cards. (At this time, smoking was allowed in public accommodations)` The main form of entertainment at both places was either a pool table or a coin-operated juke box.

These businesses were low-key in their appeal and they were licensed to sale only beer or wine. They therefore had to close at midnight, unlike those who could offer their customers mixed drinks. Any lounge that was licensed to serve cocktails could stay open until 3 a.m.. This gave it a huge advantage over it's lessor counterparts.

The Carousel was the first gay establishment licensed to serve a complete menu of alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine and mixed drinks. It was therefore ahead of it's competitors in this respect and it could stay open and serve alcoholic beverages long after they had closed at midnight. The Carousel remained open and pouring until 3 a.m.

There is an old saying in the bar business, "It's not who brings you to the party, but who takes you home"...that matters. in other words, it's not where you start out, but where you end up that counts. Although members of the LGBT community were accustomed to going out to The Huddle and to The Hide-A-Way, The Carousel's ability to remain open later eventually broke down these habits. Everyone would continue their fun at The Carousel. It soon became the place where folks would wind up partying at the end of the night. This was a huge advantage for the young club.

Another advantage The Carousel enjoyed over The Huddle and The Hide-A-Way was by having a gay man as it's owner. Bill Lansden made this comment about the man who owned The Carousel, "Chuck stood about 5ft 11 inches tall and weighed around 200 lbs. He always had a beard and drove a Lincoln Continental. If you met him, you would think he was a red-neck straight dude.". (Surprisingly, no one has been able to find a photograph of this most important man.) Although Chuck had a rough outward appearance, he was truly a gay man inside and he understood his patron's needs. By opening The Carousel, he had created an accepting, openly gay, environment for Knoxville's LGBT Community. This was by far the most important advantage that the early Carousel had over The Huddle and The Hide-A-Way.

The young Carousel became a haven for the Gay Community. Stacy Breeden had this to say about the club, "It was a fun environment. You felt comfortable there and you could be yourself." Even though The Carousel was relatively new, it's accepting atmosphere caused some people to already begin to see it as their home. These advantages placed The Carousel ahead of others and in a lead position among lounges in the Knoxville community.