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Pony

The bar's exterior in 2024
PonyLocation in Washington
Address	1221 E. Madison Street
Location	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates	47°36′47″N 122°18′57″W / 47.61309°N 122.31575°W / 47.61309; -122.31575
Type	Gay bar
Website
ponyseattle.com

Pony is a gay bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington.

Description and history

Pony is an LGBT-owned bar located at 1221 E Madison Street in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is housed in a 1930s building that served as a gas station. Seattle Weekly described Pony as a "one-of-a-kind bar that pays tribute to New York's Castro and West Village bars of the 1970s".

In 2014, in response to the neighborhood's changing demographics, the bar's manager displayed a sign which read, "Attention: This is a gay bar. A very gay bar. If you aren't queer (or a respectful ally), get lost. This isn't a zoo and we're not your pets."

Reception

In 2013, Seattle Weekly readers voted for Pony as the best gay bar in Seattle. The paper's Zach Geballe said of the bar and its clientele:

Let's be blatantly clear: Pony is not a bar for those who only dabble in gay culture. While other Capitol Hill bars try to appeal to both a gay and straight clientele, Pony is unabashedly aimed at gay males. If you were unsure of this upon entering, the gay pornography plastered on almost every inch of the space will reassure you very quickly that you are in fact in a gay bar. Because it doesn't pander to a straight crowd, it remains relevant to several generations of gay guys in Seattle without going too far down the nightclub rabbit hole. Drinks are affordable and (pun intended) stiff, and I'm led to believe that it still serves as one of the city's better meat markets. Oh, and there's a gloryhole in the bathroom, if that's your thing.

The Stranger quipped, "The gays know how to have fun: They know it, you know it, I know it, and Pony is more fun per inch than anywhere in town, if not the world."

Reception

1. "LGBTQ-Owned Businesses & Restaurants in Seattle You Can Support Right Now". Seattle Refined. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
2. ^ "Best Gay Bars in Seattle". CBS. January 9, 2014. Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
3. Reynolds, Ross. "Why Is Capitol Hill No Longer the Gay Epicenter of Seattle?". KUOW. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
4. Geballe, Zach (August 6, 2013). "Best Gay Bar: Pony". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
5. "Pony". The Stranger. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.

External links

• Media related to Pony (Seattle) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

• Capitol Hill, Seattle
• Gay culture in Washington (state)
• LGBTQ drinking establishments in Washington (state)
• LGBTQ nightclubs in Seattle
• LGBTQ-owned businesses in Washington (state)