Part of the Gay Albuquerque Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico's oldest gay bar, members-run in Nob Hill since the 1970s
Known to everyone as 'The SOCH,' the Albuquerque Social Club is the oldest gay bar in the city, with roots reaching to the early 1970s when it opened as The Heights, two years after Stonewall, and took its current name by 1983. It's a member-owned nonprofit: the roughly 2,000 members are technically the club's owners, and an elected board runs it, which is why it feels less like a business than a clubhouse. Tucked just off Central in Nob Hill, the SOCH earned its place in New Mexico's queer history as a refuge during the AIDS crisis, when members held memorials and benefit drag shows here. That community-first DNA still defines the place: Friday DJ sets, drag shows, themed dance parties, pageants, and charity fundraisers rather than a slick nightclub production. Regulars compare it to Cheers, and they mean it. Because it's a private social club, there's a membership and sign-in step at the door. It's worth knowing before you go, and it's part of what keeps the room feeling like a community rather than a tourist stop.
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