The Clown's Inn

The Clown’s Inn was opened sometime in the 1970s by Tommy Thompson, a former lover of prominent gay Durham bar owner Herb Rigsbee. It was first listed in the Damron Guides in 1980 and was believed to have been popular throughout this decade. As indicated by the name, this bar was clown-themed. Some believe that this was because of the popularity of the song “Send in the Clowns” at this time, while others think it was because Thompson was a former clown and that the decorations were from his collection.  The Clown’s Inn was one of the most popular gay bars at the time, as it was one of the few in the area, as many of the gay bars were at greater risk for being shut down or failing, for reasons including policing and inability to make rent. It was a basement bar similar to Duke’s Tavern in the Washington Duke Hotel, which we will talk about soon. 

While this was deemed a gay bar, it has been cited that there was a large lesbian population who came to this venue. In an oral history with Sam Hull, a gay Durhamite, he says that this was more of a mixed bar than any he had seen in the past in the Durham/Chapel Hill area, from his experience. The Clown’s Inn had a pool table and pinball, popular attractions at gay bars, noted in oral histories and included in listings in the Damron Travel Guide. 

*The Damron Travel Guides were guides created by Bob Damron and meant to indicate gay-oriented spaces, especially for traveling men. These guides also came with classifications, as indicated in this example, for traveling queer men to cater their visits to. The Damron Guides mostly highlighted stops for gay, white men, but included indications for places that had Black and female audiences.