Philadelphia's 12th Air Command Celebrates 11 Years of Decadence

This year, 12th Air Command celebrated its 11th Anniversary. In the capricious bar/nightclub business, that might just be a milestone. Name 11 straight clubs that have lasted that long. Much of the longevity has to be attributed to owner Richard McPeake, who has been serving drinks and debauchery to gay groupies for over 30 years, making him one of the longest nightlords in the biz. Showing you can teach dog new tricks, McPeake recently remodeled 12th Air, and the huge renovation included a brand new dance floor layout.

Before landing at 12th Air, McPeake worked at Steps (Philly), Gatsby's (NJ), Gatsby's (Broad and Locust where Upstairs at Varillis is now), Key West and then Hepburn's - the legendary lesbian bar that he morphed into 12th Air after buying the joint from Mel Heifetz. "I got into the business for the community, not to make big bucks."

With help from the generous Heifetz, McPeake decided to step over the line and bring some new spectacle to the gay bar business. He always wanted to include entertainment into gay nightlife, feeling there was never real wow-factor at his competitor's bars, just drinking. McPeake felt the LGBTQ community was entitled to the same razz-ma-tazz that straight people had at their bars: performers, theme parties, singers, dancers, and some big production values. Throw in a few leather nights, boys in briefs, shower dancing and drag queens....and you've got 12th Air.

The formula seems to have worked, with 11 years of fabulosity,12th Air is a solid landmark on the nightlife map. With three decades of glitter in his hair, McPeake has seen plenty of changes in clubbing. "Gay bars are starting to open up and be more welcoming to women and straights, " he notes. "I think it shows progress has been made since the early days of gay oppression." That's not just shoptalk either; McPeake remembers when gay bars weren't popular places with city officials. During a more fascist time, McPeake was actually arrested for operating a gay bar.

McPeake also thinks the internet has changed the way people socialize, giving many less reason to leave their house and keyboard. Bars and clubs have always been social hubs, where people meet new people. (To...you know..get it on....) To combat the online mania, McPeake tries to give his customers something they cant download. Thinking outside the box extends beyond programming, 12th Air uses radio, cable tv, internet and print to get the word out about their weekly line-up. McPeake was the first person to advertise a gay bar in Philadelphia magazine; long before gay was the new black.

The face-lift at 12th Air isn't ending with just the new dance floor. McPeake and his crew are starting a new restaurant, with Chef Yvette Morales. Plans are in the works for a Sunday brunch and an upstairs grille on the roof deck in the summer. And on the few warm nights we can expect in the future, that is probably were most of us will be flocking, to 12th Air Commands Sky Lounge, taking in the cityscape and sipping a cold one.