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Austin

Austin developer promises deal to save city’s oldest gay bar

Hanover Company says historic Oilcan Harry’s can stay

Hanover's David Ott with Oilcan Harry's (Hanover Company, Google Maps)
Hanover's David Ott with Oilcan Harry's (Hanover Company, Google Maps)

A developer with plans to demolish part of a downtown Austin block and put up an apartment building made a deal with the management of the city’s oldest gay bar and dance club that would give the club, Oilcan Harry’s, space in the new tower at reduced rent.

Hanover Company officials this week presented their plans for the 200 block of West Fourth Street to the Austin Historic Landmark Commission’s architectural review committee. Hanover plans a residential tower anchored by ground-floor commercial space, according to Community Impact Newspaper.

Hanover representatives told the panel they plan to retain some of the historic features of the block, which has long been a center of Austin’s LGBTQ community. Hanover development partner David Ott told the committee that Oilcan Harry’s would be temporarily relocated during construction and welcomed back into a new space at the tower at a reduced rent.

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“Our intent is to…set an example here really about how responsible development can happen, and a developer can come in and at their own will and desire try to preserve facades—which we’re doing at Third and Brazos [streets] as well,” Ott said. “But also, to the extent there’s a business there that does have some lease term left, how can the developer come in and work with that business to ensure that they come back in, in a designed space that works for their needs and maintains the texture and quality at the ground floor that’s there today.”

Oilcan Harry’s at 211 West Fourth– the one tenant protected from the demolition– has been in operation for 30 years. Its name is a reference to the oldest gay club in Los Angeles, Oil Can Harry’s. The gay landmark had operated in Studio City since 1968 until it became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021.

While Oilcan Harry’s will retain its street-facing facade and signage in the new space, its neighbors Neon Grotto and Coconut Club will likely be replaced by a “cool, chef-driven restaurant,” Ott said.

Developers said they hope to have their demolition request considered by the full landmark commission at its May 4 meeting.

[Community Impact Newspaper] – Maddy Sperling

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Mixed Use Development