The side streets off of Hollywood Boulevard, such as Ivar, Cosmo, and Cahuenga, were home to numerous speakeasies. They did not advertise their existence, and many were open only briefly before they would be raided by the LAPD and closed. Nightclubs that endured slightly longer included B.B.B.'s Cellar, the Montmartre, and Jimmy's Backyard. Although they were also patronized by straights, they were referred to as "queer bars" and "pansy joints" because they featured female impersonator revues. So accepted were such performances, that the nightclubs and the movie stars that attended were actually written up in magazines like the Hollywood Reporter and Variety (SurveyLA LGBT Historic Context Statement, 2014).

"The Montmartre, once the hippest of the hip in the Twenties, catered primarily to homosexuals as the Thirties went on, but never self-named itself as a pansy club or queer bar." (Mann, William J., Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1920-1969, 2001).