There was no sign on the entrance; the exterior has been described as "grimy".[14] The location had previously been used by agay bar, Zodiac.[15] The entrance to the club was up a flight of stairs, on the second floor. The door was staffed by someone who rejected anyone wearingpreppie clothes or cologne, and this was a widely known part of what made the bar influential. Originally the Mineshaft occupied only the second floor;[16] the club soon expanded into the first floor below, accessed by stairs in the back.[17][18] The upper floor or bar (no alcohol was sold, for legal reasons) had a roof deck.
Promiscuity was celebrated at Mineshaft. Nudity or minimal clothing was encouraged, and a clothes check was provided. Areas were configured to encourage sex, including spaces designed to resemble a jail cell, the back of a truck, and dungeons; slings and cans ofCrisco (at the time popular amonggay men as asexual lubricant preceding modernpersonal lubricant); spotlighted bathtubs in which men could let other menurinate on them;[17][18] a wall ofglory holes; and ascat room, which was soon abandoned as too extreme.[16][12]Fisting was commonplace.[12] Fist Fuckers of America (FFA), Total Ass Involvement League (TAIL), and numerous otherfetish clubs held meetings there.[19][17]Recreational drug use was also common.
The images and posters for the club were created by the gay erotic artistRex.[20]
The existence of the Mineshaft was widely known among gays who never visited; it has been called a "mythic[al]...space".[21]
The Mineshaft operated from October 8, 1976, until it was closed by theNew York City Department of Health on November 7, 1985, although tax problems played a significant role in its closing.[22] It was New York's first gay club to close during the 1980s public health crackdown on gay clubs and bathhouses.[23] After it closed, six men, associated with both the Mineshaft and an affiliated heterosexual club, theHellfire, were charged with a variety of crimes.[24] Four pleaded guilty, former New York City police officer Richard Bell was convicted, and the sixth fled the country to escape prosecution.[25]
as adopted by the club on October 1, 1976 is to be followed during the year 1978.
The Board of Directors
Approved dress includes the following: Cycle leather & Western gear, levis Jocks, action ready wear, uniforms, T shirts, plaid shirts, just plain shirts, Club overlays, patches, & sweat.
NO COLOGNES or PERFUMES NO SUITS, TIES, DRESS PANTS NO RUGBY SHIRTS, DESIGNER SWEATERS, or TUXEDOS NO DISCO DRAG or DRESSES
also
NO HEAVY OUTTER [sic] WEAR IS TO BE WORN IN PLAYGROUND
NOTE: The code was designed for particular men who compose the basic core of our club[31]
The movieCruising, starringAl Pacino, was intended to depict gaycruising as it existed at the Mineshaft, but the bar is not named in the movie.[32] Since the Mineshaft would not allow filming, scenes from the movie were filmed at the Hellfire Club, which was decorated to resemble the Mineshaft. Regulars from the Mineshaft appeared as extras.[33] Scenes were shot in streets and other locations near the Mineshaft.[34] Pacino attended as part of researching his role. (A bar called the Mineshaft does not appear in the 1970 novelCruising by Gerald Walker, which, with substantial changes, was the inspiration for the 1980 film of the same name.)
According to Jack Fritscher,Jacques Morali drew his inspiration for the four archetypes of theVillage People from the Mineshaft's dress code.[33]Glenn Hughes, the original leather biker of the Village People, frequently attended.[35]
^William E. Jones,"True Homosexual Experiences" Boyd McDonald and "Straight to Hell", Los Angeles, We Heard You Like Books, 2016,ISBN9780996421812, p. 75.
^Jack Fritscher,Robert Mapplethorpe: Assault with a Deadly Camera, pp. 189-190.
^Mapplethorpe's membership card for the Mineshaft can be seen in the 2016 documentaryMapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (http://www.mapplethorpefilm.comArchived 2016-11-11 at theWayback Machine, retrieved April 22, 2016).
^Jay Bletcher, "Sex Club Owners: TheFuckSuck Buck Stops Here", inPolicing Public Sex. Queer Politics and the Future of AIDS Activism, Boston, South End Press, 1996,ISBN0896085503, pp. 25-44, at p. 33.
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