By 2017, there were only about six or seven in Tarrant County, and most of them were concentrated in a small corridor just south of downtown at the cross-section of Jennings and Pennsylvania avenues. Back in the early ’80s, the town boasted nearly 20 gay bars.
When the Rainbow Lounge burned, the number of gay bars in the city was already comparatively low. A Dallas filmmaker made a documentary about the raid, protests, and resulting dialogue with the city and police. The event galvanized a population that had long faced persecution and fought to integrate. The timing of the raid incensed the local gay community and its supporters. In Fort Worth, Police made several arrests for public intoxication, and one customer suffered severe brain and head injuries. Local police and TABC agents raided the then recently-opened bar on the 40th anniversary of the raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, which set off the Stonewall Riots and gave birth to the modern gay rights movement. In 2009, the Rainbow Lounge was the setting for a national news story.
