The Hippo Club in Baltimore, Maryland: "Where Everyone's Welcome!"

On July 7, 1972 the Hippo opened for business at its current location at 1 West Eager Street in Baltimore, Maryland, in the heart of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. The facility is one of the largest entertainment complexes in Baltimore, boasting three separate areas, including one of the largest dance floors in the state. The Hippo is the oldest gay club in the United States to still be operating under its original name in the same location where it first opened.

The Hippo is situated catty-corner from Grand Central. While the mere three rooms of the relatively spartan Hippo can't compete with the luxurious, sprawling floor plan of its more upscale competitor, it has nonetheless earned a well-deserved and very devoted following in Baltimore's gay community since its birth over thirty years ago.

There is always a mix of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered party-goers, although certain events do tend to cater more heavily to one or another of these groups. In keeping with the Hippo's long-standing motto of being the place "Where Everyone's Welcome," it's not uncommon to see a fair number of straight folk, mainly couples and single women, in attendance as well. This is particularly true of the Saturday night dance party.

The busiest nights at the club are traditionally Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. On Thursdays, DJ Rosie hosts "Hip Hop" night, spinning the latest hip hop and urban tunes for your dancing pleasure. On Friday evenings, prepare yourself for an evening of glitz and glamour at Baltimore's premier venue for drag shows. These female impersonation artists include local talent, as well as renowned performers from all over the country.

The most electric night by far though, is Saturday night's "Baltimore's Biggest Dance Party." The best dance floor in the city, bar none, coupled with an incredible light show and truly outstanding resident disc jockeys (DJ Farrell, DJ Shawn Q) make this weekly event a standout on Baltimore's gay event calendar. Saturday night is definitely the night to go if you enjoy dancing, or simply enjoy watching a dance floor full of eye candy. Things don't get really hopping on Saturday nights until around 11:30PM. However, if you want to grab one of the precious few tables and chairs available (located on raised platforms on either side of the DJ booth), you'll want to arrive at 10:00PM when the doors first open.

Another outstanding feature of the Hippo is its well-stocked bars, manned (and woman-ed) by the most talented bartenders known to modern civilization. The bar prices are reasonable, and the barkeeps employed there surely know how to pour a good, strong drink.

The entry saloon bar is one, decently sized room containing two pools tables and a small, raised seating area with several tables-for-two. The saloon bartenders stand inside of a closed, rectangular bar and are able to serve their patrons in three-hundred-sixty degrees. When it's extremely crowded-such as on Saturday nights from nine to ten while people are queuing up for the dance side to open-it can be something of a challenge to get the bartender's attention. However, even on the most crowded of nights, I've never had a problem getting served within a few minutes.

Regarding the dance floor bars, the only problem lies within trying to elbow your way through the dense crowd to get there on Saturday evenings; it should officially be classified as an aerobic exercise.

The third room, just off the saloon, is the video bar. Frankly, it's a fairly small, nondescript area that doesn't get a lot of traffic. I mention it only because it's there.

A word of warning for those adventurous, underaged folks who might be thinking of getting in: don't waste your time. No ID, no admittance. It's as simple as that. It's one of the many things I adore about the Hippo. While it's patently obvious to anyone with two eyes in their head that I am well above the minimum legal drinking age, coupled with the fact that I've been a fixture at the Hippo since Reagan first took office-I still have to produce my driver's license to get into the dance section on Saturday nights. I choose to think it's because I'm so well-preserved, but in fact it's a simple matter of good business practice.

Overall, the Hippo is the place to socialize with the Baltimore GLBT community. Great sound, great music, the best dance floor in the area, fabulous bartenders, drag shows extraordinnaire, and the club is without a doubt the least pretentious gay club on the east coast. A class act, all around.

The Hippo
1 West Eager Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
410-547-0069