Per week earlier than crowds flock to Loring Park for the annual Twin Cities Satisfaction Competition, Grace Seelinger stopped exterior a nondescript grey constructing only a couple blocks away: 19 Bar.“I don’t actually really feel like there’s some other place prefer it,” Seelinger stated. “I haven’t discovered anywhere that basically scratches that itch the identical manner.” Passersby may not spot it at first look. It’s a low constructing with no home windows and only one signal on the entrance with its identify. It’s been a homosexual bar because the Nineteen Fifties when discretion was a necessity. 19 Bar in Minneapolis, pictured Monday, stays closed after a hearth on March 22.Estelle Timar-Wilcox | MPR NewsThe bar’s greater than 70-year run has been on pause because it closed after a hearth on March 22, when a rubbish truck hit a close-by utility pole. Electrical wires hit the constructing’s fuel provide and began a spark within the basement, which ultimately unfold to the bar upstairs. Presents from people hold MPR Information accessible to all – freed from paywalls and obstacles.Nobody was injured, however bar supervisor Craig Wilson defined the within was charred. “All the things needed to be gutted out,” Wilson stated. “The bar itself, the bar high. It’s been gutted right down to the studs.” The bar is within the strategy of rebuilding. Wilson stated crews are cleansing the within and repairing the roof, however because of unsure timelines of allowing and climate delays, he isn’t positive how lengthy it would take. Wilson stated insurance coverage is masking the prices.Harm to the within of 19 Bar in Minneapolis after a hearth burned by way of the constructing on March 22Courtesy Craig WilsonIn the meantime, the bar’s absence hits arduous — particularly throughout Satisfaction weekend, when it could normally be buzzing with folks stopping in from the Satisfaction festivities in Loring Park.“It simply seems like we’re at a loss with ‘The 19’ being gone,” Wilson stated. “It’s like the entire group is at a loss.”Earlier than the hearth, the within was a traditional dive: bar within the center, pool tables on the left, darts and some tables on the precise. In 70 years, the vibe hasn’t modified a lot. The bar is cash-only and doesn’t host drag, karaoke or dancing. The bar is just a spot for associates to satisfy and chat.Seelinger discovered 19 Bar after shifting to Minneapolis in 2022. She was simply beginning to come out as trans and didn’t have a lot of a group right here — till she discovered the bar, the place she met her greatest buddy. They grew to become regulars and even obtained jobs there collectively.“I wasn’t in a position to come out absolutely till I met her and began working along with her,” Seelinger stated. “She was the one that actually helped sit me down and be like, ‘Okay, properly, how are you going to do your wardrobe for work?’ And I actually wanted that in a buddy.” Wilson has heard dozens of tales like this of associates and companions assembly on the bar. He describes 19 Bar because the neighborhood lounge. Wilson says individuals who stay close by typically wander in, drawn by low costs, late hours and its central location. A bar patron gifted a portray of the bar’s inside to proprietor Gary Hallberg. Supervisor Craig Wilson says he desires to revive the bar to look the identical because it did earlier than the hearth. Courtesy Craig WilsonRyan Patrick Murphy has been a part of that group because the mid-90s. He discovered 19 Bar as a university pupil. After he graduated, he moved into the red-brick condo constructing simply down the block.“I principally have been on the 19 at the very least as soon as per week for 20 years,” Murphy stated. Murphy is a professor of historical past at Earlham Faculty in Indiana however calls Minneapolis dwelling when he isn’t on campus. He has studied the position of bars in LGBTQ+ actions. The 19 was the place he met native activists, folks older than him who had furthered homosexual rights; it’s additionally the place he heard accounts of assaults on queer folks within the neighborhood.“You had this sort of activist fervor, however then you definitely additionally had intense backlash,” Murphy stated. “Numerous that scene was revolving round ‘The 19.’” These years have been the tail finish of the darkest a part of the AIDS epidemic in the US, too — one thing Murphy stated hung heavy over 19 Bar. Regulars had handed away.He’s seen 19 Bar change through the years, alongside the LGBTQ+ group. Again when he began going, the clientele was principally older white homosexual males. He says it’s extra various now, in age, gender and race.“I simply really feel actually excited concerning the queer group basically,” Murphy says. “Folks have fought their manner in from a a lot wider a part of the group that was once extra on the margin.”19 Bar in Minneapolis, pictured June 24, stays closed after a hearth on March 22.Estelle Timar-Wilcox | MPR News19 Bar’s group responded quick when phrase of the hearth unfold. Two on-line fundraisers have raised greater than $30,000 for the bar’s eight workers, who Wilson stated are cobbling collectively facet jobs whereas they’re out of labor.A number of different bars across the Twin Cities — homosexual bars and others — stepped in to assist. Black Hart of St. Paul hosted a drag evening fundraiser; Eagle MPLS invited the employees to guest-bartend for an evening. Proceeds went to the workers.“Everyone has reached out,” Wilson stated. “It was nice to see the group come collectively and present the love and assist for us.”Wilson desires to deliver the bar again with the identical vibe it’s at all times had. Employees salvaged many of the previous posters, neon indicators, the jukebox and a stained-glass gentle fixture that hung over the pool tables — it’s all getting deep-cleaned now, Wilson stated. Wilson says they are going to contact up the paint however the no-frills coziness will keep the identical.“I need to get the bar open once more and produce all people again, and I need to give all people a giant hug to guard them till we get there,” Wilson stated. He says that individuals will hear about it as soon as 19 Bar is able to open once more.“Let or not it’s identified: The minute we discover out, I’ll be on high of the roof shouting it out.”