The spot hosted Dyke Nights and at least one gay wedding reception. The gay scene in Boston is still dominated by white guys, but at least for many, Machine was a hub for a more diverse crowd. Downstairs, drag queens twirled on stage in front of crowds that swayed under the disco lights. It was a sex-positive spot in a (still) puritanical city, with loud music and stiff drinks. Both spots had that kind of slightly dingy, lived-in feel of a well-loved gay hangout, the cigarette smell that seemed to hang in the air long after Boston banned smoking indoors, the dim corners here and there for making out. Ramrod, the leather and Levis gay bar, moved into the first floor in 1981 with Machine carving out a separate gay nightclub downstairs in 1998. But until just before quarantine - when Machine Nightclub and bar Ramrod officially closed - past the front door and the blacked-out windows at 1254 Boylston St., inside was magic.
Right now, the bars and storefronts that fill this building are empty as they await the wrecking ball that will usher in a future luxury apartment building.
The site of so much gay history in Boston is pretty boring from the outside, just a squat gray building that stretches a whole block on Boylston near Fenway Park. (Courtesy Kristen Porter/Hurley Event Photography) This article is more than 1 year old.
