Before the relative liberalisation of Singaporean society, local gay culture consisted solely of venues, largely unknown to the mainstream public. Prior to the 1980s, there were no publicly "out" homosexuals, no gay organisations, no gay literature, no gay art, no gay films or anything remotely "gay" apart from surreptitious nocturnal congregation spots. Thus, the following list forms an integral part of the documentation of Singaporean gay history.
Opened on 18 May 1989 at #06-05 Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Road, former tel: 7361360, it was the first East-meets-West pub where Asian potato queens, a large proportion of whom were Malay, could meet up with their Caucasian aficionados, otherwise known as rice queens. It offered karaoke as well as booze. It relocated many years later, shortly after its 14th anniversary in May 2003, to a street-level shophouse at 15 Duxton Road in Tanjong Pagar, renaming itself Vincenz.
[Image:Vincenz001.JPG155px]
[Image:Vincenz002.JPG310px]
It contained a handsomely elegant wooden bar which offered a large selection of beers on tap. The establishment was called "Venerable Vincent's" and "The Grand Dame of Singapore" for good reason. The newer outlet closed down on 26 March 2005 after 16 years of promoting East-West relations.
Originally catering to a gay customer base only once a week, usually on Sundays, newer small establishments have managed to survive on the burgeoning pink market by going full-time, on every night of the week.
Before the 1990s, local homosexuals had to journey all the way to Bangkok, Thailand to experience the pleasures that gay saunas offered. It became more convenient in the early 90s when an establishment called Ryu, meaning 'dragon' in Japanese, opened in Taman Pelangi near the Pelangi Complex in Johor Baru, Johor, Malaysia. Hot on the heels of its overwhelming success in attracting huge crowds of both Singaporeans and Malaysians, another gay sauna called New Blue Boys opened at 104 A-B, Jalan Serampang, Taman Pelangi, 80400, Johor Baru about a year later. Some Singaporean gays would charter taxis in groups to traverse the causeway and experience what was sorely lacking at home.
The first gay sauna in Singapore opened in 1997 by pioneering entrepreneur Max Lim. It was 3 storeys of hedonism, with a daily gay disco on the ground floor fringed by an overhead observation deck, and showers, a gym and sauna above that. It was strict about sex at first, displaying signs which read, "No obscene acts allowed", but the rule was gradually relaxed after everyone realised that the police did not bother to harass its patrons. The sauna could be recognised immediately from its external façade because of its colossal signage and the painted sketches of nude gladiators on its external wall facing South Bridge Road, near its junction with North Canal Road.
[Image:SouthBridgeRoad001.JPGleft237px|The row of shophouses along South Bridge Road where Spartacus was located.]
It experimented with the novel concept of giving its customers the option of buying shares in the business. It also pioneered services like offering upmarket buffet meals on its premises, but unfortunately, demand for the meals and disco was poor, even though the spa facilities were a resounding success. It closed in late July 1999 due to high rental costs and other factors.
[Image:StrokeSaunaAd001.JPG|Advertisement for Stroke sauna, the first to open 24 hours a day.]
[Image:AnnSiangRoad002.JPG292pxThe row of shophouses along Ann Siang Road where Stroke sauna was located.]
The successor to Spartacus under the same management, located at 22 Ann Siang Road, it had a spell of success from 2000 to 2002 when it was the only gay sauna in Singapore and also the first to open 24 hours a day, all year round. The opening of other gay saunas to break its monopoly forced its owner to move into newer premises to refocus its strategy two years later.
A multi-level sauna along Neil Road, the brainchild of activist Alex Au, it opened in 2002 and positioned itself as Singapore's first luxury gay sauna, with prices to match.
[Image:Rairua001.JPG128pxThe signature green building that housed Rairua sauna.]
[Image:Rairua002.JPG230pxThe relative position of Rairua amongst the shophouses along Neil Road.]
[Image:RairuaBack001.JPG230pxThe present dilapidated rear exterior view of Rairua after it closed down.]
It pioneered Singapore's first 'skin nights' touted as 'all nude, all floors, all night', a concept that unexpectedly proved so popular amongst supposedly 'conservative' Singaporean gays that such nude nights spread to all saunas within the span of one year and continue to be a major draw. It also organised special events like cultural talks, personalised photography [http://www.rairua.com/] and naturist art sessions, and erotic dancing by showerboys. Unfortunately, due to the expiry of its lease and disagreements with its landlord over maintenance, it closed down in April 2005.
One important principle which has governed the peculiar locations of contemporary outdoor cruising areas is the "gentrification-induced shift" phenomenon. Older areas which had been patronised in the past had to be abandoned as urban redevelopment caused the destruction of conditions conducive to cruising such as poor lighting, sparse human traffic and the presence of dark, derelict buildings/environs. Thus, the present siting of cruising areas in the Ann Siang area may be explained by the gradual shift of activity from Boat Quay to the China Square vicinity to Ann Siang Hill as these areas were successively gentrified. To some extent, a "shopping centre/public building shift" was likewise induced by redevelopment eg. from Plaza Singapura to the former National Library to Raffles City.
Very cruisy at night before the area was rejuvenated with the present row of restaurants in the early 1990s. Police patrol cars would occasionally drive up and record the IC numbers of gay men who were doing nothing other than chatting with each other, a form of intentional harassment.
[Image:BoatQuay003.JPG230pxBoat Quay by day.]
[Image:BoatQuay004.JPG230pxBoat Quay by night.]
[Image:BoatQuay001.JPG230pxSouth-western bank of Boat Quay]
[Image:BoatQuay002.JPG230pxNorth-western bank of Boay Quay]
[Image:BoatQuayBackAlley001.JPG128pxBack alley parallel to Boat Quay]
[Image:BoatQuayBackAlley002.JPG128pxAnother back alley parallel to Boat Quay]
[Image:BoatQuayBackAlley003.JPG128pxYet another back alley parallel to Boat Quay]
Surreptitious sex also took place at the foot and back alley of OCBC building nearby, before bright lighting was installed which serves no real purpose other than to deter nocturnal homosex.
[Image:OCBCBase001.JPG230pxFoot of OCBC Building with the abstract sculpture by Sir Henry Moore. Many gays used to hang around this area or even sit on the statue at night while surveying the field.]
[Image:OCBCNook001.JPG128pxA hidden cranny where quickies often took place at night in the 1980s]
[Image:OCBCBackAlley001.JPG230pxAlley behind OCBC building, a hive of cruising activity in the 1980s]
[Image:OCBCNook002.JPG230pxAn elevated landing with its side lined with cardboard and its floor covered with newspapers for surreptitious horizontal nocturnal homosex in the 1980s]
[Image:OCBCBusStop001.JPG230pxThe bus stop along Church Street just behind OCBC building where cruisers loved to sit and wait in the 1980s.]
Areas surrounding OCBC building such as the Raffles Place MRT station and the construction sites of buildings on the other side of Philip Street were also popular and gave rise to the novel phenomenon of car-cruising. Unattractive cruisers could increase their chances of picking up handsome gay pedestrians if they drove big flashy cars.
The streets traversing China Square, namely Hokkien Street, Nankin Street and Chin Chew Street were overrun especially on weekend nights by gay men and car-cruisers when the whole area was lined with abandoned, dark, derelict buildings in the 1980s. Many would stand or sit along the corridors of these dilapidated buildings and people-watch, chat, fondle each other or step into passing cars.