The Red Barn opened in 1958 as an antique store near Tropicana Avenue and Maryland Parkway. In 1961 the store was converted into a club that was the first coffeehouse in Las Vegas and a popular hangout among local college students. The Red Barn hosted straight patrons during the day, but after midnight it catered to the gay community. By 1972 it was exclusively a gay club, one of only a few in Las Vegas.
Judy Bayley, co-owner of the Hacienda Hotel and Daydream dude rance, hosted charity gay hayrides from ranch to the Red Barn..."everybody'd show up and was usually bombed outta their mind. To see some of these guys on a horse that'd never been on a horse was hysterical! I would be a wrangler on those rides (and) I ended up pulling some rescues.
The Red Barn offered popular drag shows such as Fabulous Fakes and RB Follies, and it provided a place for the gay community to socialize. The club also published the "RB Bag," one of the earlies gay magazines in Southern Nevada.
The Red Barn closed in March 1988, and the abandoned building burned down later that year. The only remaining piece of the renowned property is its neon martini class signage, whichvis now part of the Neon Museum's collection.
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