NW 39th Street Enclave

The NW 39th Street Enclave, Oklahoma City's gay village, is mostly concentrated along and around a section of NW 39th Street due north of Oklahoma City University, off Pennsylvania Avenue in the city's burgeoning near-northwest quadrant. The district is commonly known simply as 39th Street.

The neighbourhood houses the bulk of the city's most popular gay and lesbian nightclubs and bars, as well as a number of retail stores catering to the large LGBT community. While the area is relatively quiet during the daylight hours, it comes very alive at night with throngs of patrons visiting the many bars, taverns, dance clubs, and shops.

Oklahoma City, due to its large diversity, is an increasingly open-minded city and is generally gay-friendly with many lively LGBT venues and attractions, which is somewhat contrary to past popular opinion. The city is well-known, particularly among the gay subculture, for being open-minded and generally tolerant of alternative lifestyles; although not quite as publicly embracing of gay society as some of its counterparts on the West Coast. While it may not be as common to see public visual displays of affection among gays in all areas of the city, the enclave itself offers a great oasis of refuge where businesses openly cator to gay patrons and visitors can enjoy the company of their peers.

Gay-friendly hotels in the district are readily available and are usually excellent value for money. This includes the famous Habana Inn hotel, billed as the largest Gay resort in the Southwest US - complete with 200 rooms, dance clubs, restaurants, and theme attractions. It is advisable to book in advance when staying in Oklahoma City, especially during the annual Oklahoma City Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered & Intersex Pride parade and Festival held in June.

External links

• Gay OKC Web Portal
• Hard News Online newspaper
• oUT iN Oklahoma City newspaper
• Gayly Oklahoman newspaper
• okclesbian.com
• PRIDE Oklahoma City

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