Coronado Cocktail Lounge

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According to a local reminiscence, gay men frequented the Cocktail Lounge at the Coronado Hotel (74 Franklin Street on the Worcester Common) in the mid-twentieth century. In 1951, a vice squad raid pushed the gay clientele to seek a bar further from City Hall and the Worcester Common. Little is known about the Coronado asides from the raid, but an advertisement in a 1955 telephone book still indicated that the Coronado featured a “Men’s Bar,” which might have earlier served as cover for gatherings of men who were sexually and romantically interested in other men. In addition, a popular female impersonator who went by “Vivacious Vicky” posted an advertisement in the March 18, 1950, issue of Billboard, indicating that she could be reached under the name of “Victor Varsity” at the Hotel Coronado in Worcester, Mass.