'Erasing our history': Thousands sign petition to save iconic drag bar from condo development
Plans aren't concrete and Crews and Tangos still has a 2-year lease, developer says
The fight is on to keep a beloved drag bar in Toronto's gay village from meeting the same fate as many iconic spaces in the neighbourhood: becoming yet another condo development.
Crews and Tangos has become synonymous with launching drag queens' careers in Toronto. But now, the owner of the site, Graywood Developments, is said to be looking at the possibility of converting the property into a range of uses, including residential and commercial. In response, more than 30,000 people have signed a petition to save it.
Carlotta Carlisle did her first drag show 13 years ago at the bar and is now a regular performer.
"Crews is one of the few places you'll get gay men, straight women, gay women, everyone has their own little place here," she said while getting ready backstage for a show this week.
Crews opened in the mid-to-late 90s and merged with a second bar, Tango, in 2004.
The popular three-storey venue, located on Church Street between Maitland and Alexander streets, hosts drag shows every night and while it's become an iconic staple in the gay village, it means more than that to many.
Watch: Why the fight is on to save Toronto's iconic drag show bar
"It's like a home," Jordan Timmons said. "You walk in, this building looks like it's like an old mansion full of joy and colour and rainbows and drag queens."
Timmons, a.k.a Baby Bel Bel, is the reigning Miss Crews and Tangos after winning last year's annual pageant in June.
In an interview inside the bar, Timmons recalled the surreal moment of being crowned the winner on the same stage where he grew up watching other drag queens perform.
"It feels like they're kind of erasing our history when they're taking away these important buildings," he said.
'We are losing these spaces'
The petition, started by Francis Andreis a week ago, says condos keep taking over queer spaces in the village.
"It's not just an entertainment space. It's a space for LGBT people and really anyone who wants to feel included, to be included and to feel safe," Andreis said in an interview.
"We are losing these spaces."
Nearby gay bar Fly 2.0 closed in the summer to make room for a condo project, which has changed to a 34-storey rental building with retail. Directly across the street from that construction site is another that will be home to a 44-storey condo.
Development would be one of many in the village
The controversy over potential changes to Crews and Tangos comes as construction cranes hang in the sky and existing high-rises tower over the historic buildings in the village.
In the small rectangle between Yonge and Jarvis streets, between Charles Street to the north and Carlton Street to the south, there are 10 proposed developments and five under construction, most of them condo buildings.
"There's a really iconic value to where we live here that we really have to preserve," said Nicki Ward, a long-time resident and a former director of the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association.
She's witnessed the changes after living in the neighbourhood for nearly 20 years and said some development is welcomed as long as developers properly consult the community and preserve the history and character of the neighbourhood.
"There's nothing wrong with condos, they're fine," she said during a walk around the area.
"What the problem is, is that if you build this without a sensitivity to the neighbourhood and the local historical character."
She said if Crews and Tangos becomes a condo building, she'd like to see local businesses take over the retail space and the unique facade preserved as much as possible, including the stained-glass windows.
Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam, whose ward includes the neighbourhood, points out that the village is designated a special character area by the city largely to retain the LGBT character and culture of the neighbourhood.
"The level of scrutiny is much higher … and it has to fit into the existing context of the street," she said of development applications.
Developer plans to work with community
The site includes another bar called Boutique and a parking lot that hosts Pride events in the summer.
Graywood has set up preliminary meetings with community groups and no application has been filed with the city.
The company said it has no concrete plans for the space yet, but according to the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association, Graywood's vision is to introduce a mix of uses including retail and residential.
Crews and Tangos recently signed a two-year lease extension and Graywood said it doesn't anticipate any changes to the bar's operation in that time.
"It's our intention to work with our tenants and the community to understand the vision and values of the Church- Wellesley neighbourhood, in order to have that feedback inform our development proposal," a statement from Graywood reads.
Crews and Tangos management was unable to comment for the story.
Ward hopes future community consultations about the Crews and Tangos space is met with the same enthusiasm as the petition.
No matter what happens with the space and future developments, Ward said the village will always be a safe space for the LGBT community.
"There's an iconic value [to the neighbourhood]," she said.
"It's almost mythological. It doesn't really matter who's here."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
