Businesses are hoping change comes about quickly for the area
The future of a “forgotten part of the city centre” remains unknown as more venues have closed their doors. Liverpool’s Pride Quarter is a prime destination for not only the LGBTQ+ community but also for tourists from all over the world.
Week in and week out, thousands of people from all over the region and beyond descend on the streets and back alleys in and around Stanley Street to drink, dance and party the night away. It has been a safe haven for queer people, allies, friends and families for decades now. However, the area – made up of Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street – has taken several blows in the matter of the last few months.
The rainbow-coloured hotspot has recently seen a handful of businesses serve its last cocktail, whereas others, remained closed with no sign of opening again anytime soon.
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Legendary nightclub Superstar Boudoir has stood the test of time in the Quarter for the last 25 years. Tucked away in a basement, it’s the type of venue you will hear about before you visit. Its reputation is laced with chaotic nights, eccentric characters, and some of the best nights out you’ll ever have, which is in no small thanks to the family at its core.
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Leading the family is Kevin Kirby. He previously worked at the American Bar on Lime Street but was asked by the parent company to move sites. Years later, Kevin can still be found making sure the well-oiled machine keeps turning.
However, he told the ECHO, that something needs to be done, and prominently, if the quarter is to continue with its legacy. He said: “The scene and the area in which it’s situated seems to be the forgotten part of the city. Cumberland and Stanley Street are a disgrace – it is filled with poorly lit streets and pavements full of cracks. There is no direct signage to direct tourists to the area.
“As a lot of the bars are underground and are in listed buildings it’s hard to do anything outside to identify your business. After the success of Eurovision and the Pride events over the past few years, you would think the council would be looking to improve the area.”
Since August, the ECHO has reported how Dorothy’s Diner closed after only opening several months prior, how its sister site Dorothy’s Showbar is still flooded and has been since July 2023 and how Kittys Showbar, on Tithebarn Street, hasn’t been open since May.
Just this month, the Pride Quarter said more goodbyes as Navy Bar, Social and ICON also shut up shop for now. Kevin said to ensure more don’t follow suit the streets need to be pedestrianised, and he isn’t the only one.
The Poste House and The Masquerdale, on Cumberland Street, created a petition after being “sick of how ragged the street looks”. The businesses asked for the council to “take a look” at the street which contains so much history and fame – with it having welcomed the likes of Oasis, The Beatles, Rylan Clark and Chrissy Rock to name a few.
Manager of The Poste House, Ciaran Robinson, from Huyton but now living in Vauxhall, told the ECHO: “For years both these diamond-in-the-rough bars have been the bars to be at during massive events. This street has thousands of people walking past it from Victoria Street and Dale Street each week but most people don’t look twice at this filthy-looking passage.”
Cumberland Street is situated in the heart of the queer scene. Despite this, the campaigners said it is “an overlooked street in the due to looking like an alleyway”. The street currently has two businesses operating within it but has seen many others come and go including Lomax, Roxie’s, Angels, Out, and Profile amongst others.
The campaigners hope a revamp will see more footfall, create more revenue and increase the chances of investors wanting to open new venues in the current empty spaces.
Ciaran, whose family has managed the venue for nearly two decades, added: “The outside look has affected us and we see this all the time when thousands of tourists and the people of this city walk by every week not giving us a second look. The people that do come down are always saying the same thing: ‘I would never have known this little pub was here’. It’s only thanks to the likes of Google and Facebook, that newbies to the city know we are here.”
John Kenny, the owner of The Masquerade Bar, echoed a similar frustration. The 50-year-old from Walton added: “It’s been really disheartening and disappointing. Stanley Street has benefitted from several interventions, as has Eberle Street, yet Cumberland Street has hardly been touched.
“Apart from the man-made issues with dog muck and littering, the pavements and road are appalling and I’ve personally seen people walk down and turn around from Dale Street. Cumberland Street has been neglected.
“It looks shabby and intimidating at night – the lighting is terrible. We have spent thousands in refreshing The Masquerade and keeping it in a decent state, from what was quite a dilapidated premises. Step one foot outside and that whole feeling drops.”
City Centre North Labour councillor Nick Small has been an advocate for the Pride Quarter for “many, many years”. He said he sees the “real benefits” of pedestrianising the area but recognises it needs to be part of a wider picture. Speaking on behalf of Liverpool City Council, Cllr Small told the ECHO: “It has the potential to drive investment, create an even stronger sense of place and support a vibrant nighttime economy.
“But any change needs the support of businesses there, daytime as well as nighttime, and of residents living there. We hope we can be part of this conversation.”
Despite the cause of concern, some Pride Quarter venues are not letting it deter them. Just this week, after-hours club Heaven confirmed it intends to operate as normal regardless of new plans for an 81-bed hotel. Developer JSM Company Group won the backing of Liverpool Council’s planning committee to bring the Fruit Exchange building, where Heaven is located and has operated from since 2016, back to life.
In a joint statement, Heaven’s general manager, Bryan Killey, and Pub Invest Group’s operational manager, Jimmy Boland, reassured clubbers the venue won’t be affected by the plans. A similar reassurance also recently came from GBar. The staple venue, which first opened in 1997, is currently undergoing a “big facelift”. The Eberle Street Club transforming its underground basement space for the first time in decades.
In a brief social media video, it is apparent construction work has begun on the venue’s walls. The speakers have also moved from their prior homes around the venue’s perimeter. Resident DJ Resident DJ Dave Bennett assured the underground party space would be back bigger and better when it returns on Saturday, September 28 – in line with Gbar’s 27th anniversary.
