Before Utah got to freely celebrate Pride, they had this gay bar down the street.
Every Pride celebration has a history, and sometimes that history begins somewhere you might not expect: a gay bar. Long before rainbow flags filled the streets of Salt Lake City, one LGBTQ+ gathering place was helping Utah’s queer community find its people, build connections, and imagine a more hopeful future.
That place was the Sun Tavern.
While we can now celebrate what the bar meant to Utah’s LGBTQ+ community in a much more open and positive way, its significance was especially powerful during a time when simply having a place to gather could mean so much. Back then, the Sun Tavern represented more than a night out. It symbolized the hope that a better future for the community was possible.
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A Bar With a Bigger Purpose
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the Sun Tavern first opened in 1973 and became one of Utah’s earliest gay-owned, gay-focused bars. Its original location stood near the northwest corner of South Temple and 400 West, in a building that has since disappeared. The site is now occupied by the Delta Center.
The Mildred Berryman Institute for LGBTIQ2S+ Utah History helped ensure that the bar’s contribution wouldn’t disappear with it. Last month, supporters installed a permanent historical marker across the street from its former location, giving the community a place to recognize an important piece of its past.
Historian and institute co-founder Randell Hoffman explained that LGBTQ+ organizing throughout the 1970s and 1980s frequently took place at the Sun Tavern. In other words, this wasn’t just where people went to socialize. It was also where connections could turn into collective action.
From Barroom Gatherings to Pride
The Sun Tavern’s influence extended beyond its doors. Its owner, Joe Redburn, along with Boyer and other community members, helped organize Utah’s first Pride celebration in 1975.
Think about that the next time you attend a Pride parade. The celebrations we enjoy today have roots in people who gathered in spaces like this one and worked to make their community more visible.
The original Sun Tavern eventually relocated as downtown Salt Lake City developed. Its later building was badly damaged by a tornado in 1999, and the original gathering place is now part of the city’s history.
But its legacy hasn’t vanished. The new marker is a reminder that LGBTQ+ history isn’t built only through major demonstrations or political victories. Sometimes, it starts with a bar, a welcoming space, and people who refuse to give up on a better tomorrow.