That crowd dominated the straight crowd and it got bigger and bigger until it was known as a gay bar.”įran’s quickly became a haven for many people who had a hard time finding a place to be themselves.” They were always nice people and my parents respected them. They started inviting some of their male friends and they would all be dancing. “At first I don’t think she was even sure they were gay. Many of the women were gay, Collins said. When Robert Collins died in 1975, his wife and children took over the business, calling it Fran’s Place.Ī bowling alley next door, King’s Lynn Lanes, attracted ladies from a women’s bowling league to stop in for drinks. It reopened as The Lighthouse Cafe at its current Washington Street location. In 1940, It was passed on to his parents, Fran and Robert. “I remember my father distinctly saying it was there before and after prohibition,” he said. While he has been unable to find anything documenting the exact year or location, he knows it was located somewhere in the city. First to enter a float in the Boston Pride parade, first to hold an AIDS fundraiser and one of the first to host a gay wedding in the state, Collins told in a September 15 report, which took a look back at the storied establishment:Ĭollin’s grandfather, John, first opened the business as a tavern around the 1920s. Its owner, Jay Collins, along with many patrons, considers Fran’s the oldest gay bar in Massachusetts still in operation, a distinction that very well may be true, especially given its roots going back to days when even bars were “in the closet.” In any case, Fran’s Place is certainly one of the oldest and most beloved.Ī farewell party is planned at Fran’s for Saturday, September 24.įran’s has been a gathering place of many firsts.
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Lynn, MA-Known by many as the “Cheers of the North Shore,” Fran’s Place is closing its doors on September 26. One of the oldest gay bars in Massachusetts, Fran's Place in Lynn, is closing its doors for good on September 26, 2016.