Gay L.A. (Faderman, Timmons) reports that the Paradise Club arose in the 1950s - along with several other lesbian bars - and that it was a place "where butch-and femme couples less fashionable that those at the Gypsy Room could dance."

In Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, Faderman observes that "the customers were young women who were supermarket clerks, waitresses, factory workers, beauty operators, prostitutes. They were almost invariably elaborately made up, dressed in high heels and skirts or capris, or totally without makeup, in pegged, fly-front pants, black penny loafers, and a ducktail haircut. A couple would consist of one of each. Dress was the indicator of whom one may or may not flirt."