Bars & clubs / New Center / Milwaukee Junction
Woodward Bar & Grill
Closed – archive entry · 2022
For decades Detroit's oldest gay bar and a home for Black LGBTQ+ Detroiters, open from 1954 until a fire destroyed it in 2022.
01 / The story of this place
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The Woodward Bar & Grill opened in 1954 near the old General Motors headquarters and had become a fully gay bar by the end of that decade, making it for decades Detroit's oldest gay bar. Once segregated, it later became the city's best-known bar for Black LGBTQ+ Detroiters. It was home to the Miss Woodward pageant and the weekly 'Diva Show,' and it hosted early Hotter Than July events. A three-alarm fire destroyed it on June 14, 2022, and the building was demolished in October 2025.
- 68-year run, 1954–2022
- Miss Woodward pageant and weekly Diva Show
- Early Hotter Than July venue
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Source and former website ↗