Pegasus

Pegasus was a cornerstone of Pittsburgh's LGBTQ+ community for nearly three decades, operating in the basement of the Baum Building at 818 Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh from 1980 until closing on December 6, 2009. One of the city's most beloved queer spaces, Pegasus was a pioneering dance club known as a safe haven and home for generations of LGBTQ+ Pittsburghers. Its vibrant atmosphere in the 1980s and '90s — described by regulars as "gay America's best-kept secret" — was cited as a direct inspiration for the American television series Queer as Folk. The building at 818 Liberty Ave itself has a storied history, having previously housed the Liberty Theater, the Copa (a supper club that hosted performers including Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., and Count Basie), the Pin Up Lounge, and the Staircase Lounge before becoming Pegasus. After closing at 818 Liberty Avenue, Pegasus briefly relocated across the river to a new space. The original location remains a landmark of Pittsburgh queer history.