Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon

You are now at the corner of 2nd Avenue N. and Commerce Street. This is the former site of the Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon. In 1971, Jerry Peek opened this club as Nashville’s first drag bar. It became a popular night spot for both gay and straight crowds. He started the Miss Gay America Pageant in 1972, and contestants from across the country came to Music City. Norma Kristie, a female impersonator from Arkansas, won the inaugural title. Norma later purchased the pageant rights from Jerry Peek in 1975 and ran the pageant until 2005. The Miss Gay America Pageant continues to this day. Fun fact: Nashville’s own Suzy Wong won the title in 2017. 

But back to Jerry Peek and the Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon. In 1972, he rented out the second floor to the Metropolitan Community Church or MCC. The MCC was a gay-affirming Christian denomination that began in California in 1968. These congregations became targets of anti-gay violence and arson in the 1970s—the most infamous tragedy was the UpStairs Lounge fire in New Orleans in June 1973, which killed 32 people. Nashville was also a target of arson, but luckily no one was killed. In the early morning of May 31, 1973, the Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon building went up in a blaze. The cause of the fire was never determined, but many suspected arson. Peek moved his drag shows to the Embers Cabaret Room at 210 Printers Alley. We’ll talk more about that bar at the last part of our stop.

Continue up Second Ave. to Church Street and turn LEFT. Enter Printers Alley on your right between Third and Fourth Avenues. Hit pause as you walk, then resume the narration once you arrive at Printers Alley.