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The Playland Café at 21 Essex Street in Boston, Massachusetts was Boston’s oldest gay bar. It was located in the so-called “Combat Zone”, the adult entertainment district in Boston, which is now called Downtown Crossing. Porn cinemas, strip clubs and other places were found in this quarter. When it opened in 1937, the Playland Café wasn’t labeled a gay bar, but it quickly gained that reputation. There is now a multi-storey car park at 21 Essex Street.
