The Magic in the Can: 52 Years of Resistance and Rejoicing at Oil Can Harry’s, LA’s Now-Shuttered Historic Gay Bar
Our latest true story is about a bar. You’d never have guessed it from its location, nearly hidden on a dingy stretch of Ventura Boulevard, with a used car lot on one side and a car-wash tent fronted by a giant plastic hand on the other, but Oil Can Harry’s was something of a gay mecca. Then came the pandemic. After 52 years, Oil Can Harry’s shut its doors for good on December 9, 2020. Then came the pandemic. Along with many beloved institutions, Oil Can Harry’s was unprepared. After 52 years of service and history, Oil Can Harry’s shut its doors for good on December 9, 2020. Its half-century of history traces the evolution of what it was like to be queer and progressive in the US.
Presenting “The Magic in the Can: 52 Years of Resistance and Rejoicing at Oil Can Harry’s,” written by Mackenzie Fargo, Emma Starer Gross, and Harry Spitzer.
