"Ladies Entrance"

RedAngie

Sea Level Lady
Joined
Sep 10, 2015
Any old-timers here remember neighborhood bars and taverns having separate entrances for women?

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My neighborhood in Philly had about half a dozen bars within walking distance, most of which had a separate entrance for women around the side of the building. I don't think it was a law, but rather custom. It was inappropriate for a woman to use the main entrance into the bar area, even if accompanied by her husband.

Some establishments allowed escorted women to sit at the bar, while others restricted them to a table in a back room. In most places, unaccompanied women were fine until about 9 or 10pm. Later than that,
well, a lone woman was considered to be a tramp.

I remember seeing these signs well into the 1980s.
 
Our city still has one! It's probably the most upscale, expensive restaurant in town, and the oldest, but does have the "ladies entrance". It's a really cool building!
 
Yep, in my South Philly neighborhood there were many "Ladies' Entrances," on the understanding that if an unaccompanied woman used one, she wasn't really a "lady." The most popular bar in my neighborhood was the Friends Tavern around the corner from me, and it had a side entrance for women, but since it changed hands (it's now known as McDaniel's) the sign over the door was taken down. This would have been in the mid-80s.
 


I have never, ever seen one. I didn’t even know it was a thing until this second.

This is an honest question..I’m not trying to be insensitive or racist, I promise. When there was segregation, did ‘colored’ or ‘black’ people have to use separate entrances too? I would assume if so, all traces of that would be gone.
 
I saw separate entrances for women at various businesses in Saudi Arabia when I was there in the 90s.
 
I have never, ever seen one. I didn’t even know it was a thing until this second.

This is an honest question..I’m not trying to be insensitive or racist, I promise. When there was segregation, did ‘colored’ or ‘black’ people have to use separate entrances too? I would assume if so, all traces of that would be gone.

Depending on the place, they most likely weren't allowed in at all or entered through the kitchen.
 


We had a hotel in our small town growing up that had a side door for the ladies. Also, old churches that had separate doors, one for the men and one for the women.
 
Sure, that was very common when I was a kid in the 60s. I guess the practice started dying out in the 70s, but there were some holdouts until later.
 
I have never, ever seen one. I didn’t even know it was a thing until this second.

This is an honest question..I’m not trying to be insensitive or racist, I promise. When there was segregation, did ‘colored’ or ‘black’ people have to use separate entrances too? I would assume if so, all traces of that would be gone.

I hate to say it, but until very recently in South Philly at least, people mostly kept to "their own" neighborhoods. I lived in the white Irish neighborhood, the African-American neighborhood started on a certain block, the Italians were elsewhere. People are mixing it up now, but in my childhood it was very segregated and no African-American would have even thought to go to a 2nd Street bar, anymore than a white person would go to a bar in an African-American neighborhood. Thank God it's all changing now.
 
I have never, ever seen one. I didn’t even know it was a thing until this second.

This is an honest question..I’m not trying to be insensitive or racist, I promise. When there was segregation, did ‘colored’ or ‘black’ people have to use separate entrances too? I would assume if so, all traces of that would be gone.
Way back in the Rat Packs days, Sammy Davis Jr. had to come in through a back entrance. The man had his own show but wasn’t allowed to walk in the front door.
 
Yep, in my South Philly neighborhood there were many "Ladies' Entrances," on the understanding that if an unaccompanied woman used one, she wasn't really a "lady." The most popular bar in my neighborhood was the Friends Tavern around the corner from me, and it had a side entrance for women, but since it changed hands (it's now known as McDaniel's) the sign over the door was taken down. This would have been in the mid-80s.

We lived in the Port Richmond neighborhood. According to my mother, unaccompanied women were fine if they were already known as some man's wife, daughter, etc. Or the widow of some former regular customer. But they were still expected to leave by about 9 or 10pm. Groups of women were welcome to stay later, as long as they remained in the back room.

After 6pm or so, an unaccompanied woman who was a stranger was always suspect and likely refused service.

I hate to say it, but until very recently in South Philly at least, people mostly kept to "their own" neighborhoods. I lived in the white Irish neighborhood, the African-American neighborhood started on a certain block, the Italians were elsewhere. People are mixing it up now, but in my childhood it was very segregated and no African-American would have even thought to go to a 2nd Street bar, anymore than a white person would go to a bar in an African-American neighborhood. Thank God it's all changing now.

Yep, it was the same in my former neighborhood.
 
Yep, in my South Philly neighborhood there were many "Ladies' Entrances," on the understanding that if an unaccompanied woman used one, she wasn't really a "lady." The most popular bar in my neighborhood was the Friends Tavern around the corner from me, and it had a side entrance for women, but since it changed hands (it's now known as McDaniel's) the sign over the door was taken down. This would have been in the mid-80s.

I have memories of passing by one or two establishments in town that featured a “Ladies and Escorts” entrance. Both places were considered to be dives.
 
Yes, in fact it is the one pictured in your OP. My family used to go there all the time, they had THE BEST french fries.
It closed in 2013 and the sign remained up until it closed.
 

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