Forty-five years of the strip
The history of us.
How Cedar Springs became Cedar Springs — bar by bar, decade by decade, from the Crossroads to today.
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1978 — The Beginning
Throckmorton Mining Company Opens
In 1978, the Throckmorton Mining Company became one of Cedar Springs' first openly gay bars, marking the birth of what would become Dallas's gayborhood. The bar sat at the corner of Throckmorton and Cedar Springs — the intersection that locals still call "The Crossroads." Within a few years, more venues followed: JR's, Sue Ellen's, and the Round-Up Saloon each staked their claim on the strip.
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1980s — Crisis & Community
AIDS, Activism, and the Birth of Solidarity
The AIDS epidemic hit Dallas hard. The community rallied: Resource Center opened in 1983, initially as the AIDS Resource Center, offering testing, counseling, and support. Cathedral of Hope became a spiritual home for those cast out by other churches. Judge Jerry Buchmeyer's 1985 ruling against the Texas sodomy law was a local legal milestone. Through grief and rage, the Strip became more than a party destination — it became a lifeline.
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1990s — Pride Grows Louder
The Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade Takes Root
Named for Alan Ross, a tireless community leader, the Pride parade became an annual institution on Cedar Springs Road. What started as a few hundred marchers swelled to tens of thousands. Sue Ellen's expanded. Station 4 opened the Rose Room, launching a drag cabaret tradition that continues today. The decade closed with a community that was visible, defiant, and growing.
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2000s — Institutional Gains
From the Margins to the Mainstream
The Dallas Police Department hired its first LGBTQ+ liaison officer. The city passed employment non-discrimination protections. Lambda Legal opened a South Central office in Dallas. Bishop Arts began drawing queer creatives priced out of Oak Lawn. The community was no longer concentrated on a single strip — it was spreading across the city, carrying its culture outward.
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2010s — Marriage, Murals, and Momentum
Rainbow Crosswalks and National Headlines
The rainbow crosswalks painted at Cedar Springs and Throckmorton in 2015 became a national symbol of progress — installed the same week the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges. Dallas elected its first openly gay council member from District 14 (which includes Oak Lawn). The Strip added new venues: Cheat Code, a retro-arcade gay bar, brought the next generation to the neighborhood.
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2020s — The Next Chapter
Pride Goes Downtown, and the Future Is Wide Open
In 2024, the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade announced its historic move to downtown Main Street — a sign that Pride had outgrown the Strip's four blocks. Dallas won a host city bid for FIFA 2026, bringing global eyes to the city's LGBTQ+ community. New queer-owned businesses are opening in Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts, and beyond. Cedar Springs remains the heart, but Gay Dallas is now the whole body.