The Pegasus is also notable for its socially conscious role within the gay community of Pittsburgh. Actress Kathleen Turner also frequented the club during her time headlining a play in Pittsburgh titled Tallulah. Indeed, many famous drag queens performed at the Pegasus over the years, including director Chi Chi LaRue, Houston-native Tiffany Jones, and John Waters associate Divine. After passing under that sign, club patrons had the opportunity to participate in a variety of events from Halloween and New Year’s Eve celebrations and fundraisers to singing acts and drag shows. It went through a number of cosmetic changes in terms of décor over the years, but what was always a staple was the trademark black and red sign over the door of a winged horse advertising the club’s existence. When it opened the Pegasus was among the most cosmopolitan sites for gay patrons in the Pittsburgh area, hosting a piano and cocktail lounge on the upper level and a dance floor down below. The club soon became a centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s gay community.
The Del Monaco’s and the Tammys played the venue when it became the Pin Up Lounge in the 1960s and the Jaggerz, Skyliners, and Rock Garden headlined when Dolores and Henry Demase ran it as the Staircase Lounge from 1967 to 1980.ĭavid Morrow opened the Pegasus Lounge in June 1980 after the Staircase’s closure earlier that year. The Copa ran headliners like Mel Torme, Duke Ellington, Conway Twitty, Rudy Vallee, Bela Lugosi, and Miles Davis before closing in 1959. Five years later, band leader Etzi Covato opened the Villa Madrid and operated it until 1948 when he sold it to music promoter Lenny Litman and it became the Copa. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936 carried away the club’s piano and furniture.
Lyricist and music publisher Joe Hiller opened the Music Box in the basement of 818 Liberty Avenue in 1934, booking performers like Dora Maughan, Buddy Kountz, and Eddie Loughton until the St. Before the Pegasus came along, however, the basement played host to a number of other nightclubs. During this period a cafeteria operated out of the basement that would eventually become the Pegasus Lounge. Due to competition from the larger Penn Theater the Liberty Theater closed in the 1920s, became offices and stores, and was renamed the Baum Building. Opened in 1913 as the Liberty Theater John Harris, the building included a 1,400-seat vaudeville showcase. The building on the corner of Liberty Avenue and Strawberry Way that once housed the Pegasus Lounge has a long and storied past as an entertainment venue.