In 1989, Evelyn Downing opened The Phoenix, 8 which reigned at the site for almost 20 years. 7 But the party wasn’t over at 567 Ponce.
“I do not condone that.”Įsther passed away just a few months later, by spring of 1988. “I had no idea this was happening,” she told The Atlanta Constitution. The owner of the bar, Esther Knight, was apparently shocked that such shenanigans could happen at The Stud.
6ĭuring a raid, police found seven men “performing homosexual acts in full view of other customers.” The men faced charges that included sodomy, masturbation for hire, indecent exposure, simple battery, and attempted escape. 5 By 1987, Pegasus earned a new title for Atlanta: it was where, according to police, “the city’s first arrests for sex acts in an open area of a bar” possibly took place. July 23, 1981.īy 1983, The Conference Room made way for a short-lived bar called The Stud, 4 which quickly gave way to Pegasus Lounge in 1984. Advertisement for Frank Powel’s Conference Room.
