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Bounce -- an iconic gay club - will close after a 13-year run. The last night is slated for January 4.

(John Petkovic/The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The mainstreaming of gay culture has desegregated the nightlife, blurring the lines between a "gay" and "straight" club.

That's not to say there isn't a downside, as fans of Bounce discovered.

The iconic gay club – 2814 Detroit Ave., Cleveland – will close after a 13-year run. The last night is slated for Sunday, Jan. 4.

Fans and even longstanding performers at Bounce – renowned for its drag and cabaret nights – learned of the closing suddenly on Wednesday, via Facebook.

"I'm devastated," said Bella Sin, a regular performer at the club. "The bar helped sponsor events all across the city and was such a big part of the scene."

Bounce played an active part in raising funds and awareness for Cleveland Pride and the Gay Games.

It also solidified a gay-friendly strip along Detroit Avenue when it opened in 2001. The area included Tool Shed/A Man's World, an old-school gay bar that was usurped by Bounce – and proceeded to close in January 2013.

Bounce, you see, was hardly the dark, denim-and-leather hangout made famous in the 1970s. Rather, it rolled out a slick veneer and a sleek bar to go with a crowd of buff trendies.

It was at the forefront of the gay scene when it opened – mixing TV viewing parties with dance nights and a popular happy hour and dining menu. It got as close to being inclusive without losing its gay-bar status.

However, the scene continued to evolve, resulting in a mainstreaming of gay culture and a broader coming-out party, where once-"straight" clubs and bars welcome gay patrons.

"Gay people go everywhere and do a lot of bar-hopping all over these days, whereas that wasn't the case 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago," says Dean Rufus, a veteran club DJ and owner of Dean Rufus House of Fun, a gay-friendly store located on West 29th Street. "So we're seeing gay clubs closing all over the country."

In August, another longstanding Cleveland gay club, Twist, experienced a makeover and was reopened as an inclusive social club.

The closing of Bounce might be part of a larger national trend. That's not to say that the closing of the club isn't a loss to the local gay scene – especially as it occurs mere months on the heels of Cleveland touting its gay nightlife as it welcomed participants in the Gay Games.

"Not only am I saddened by the loss of another legendary club in Cleveland," says Rufus. "I'm also going to sincerely miss seeing my friends and neighbors."

In the early-1980s, downtown had 30-some gay clubs – that is, back in the days of segregation.

"We are losing our performance bars," says Sin, who counts only two gay clubs in Cleveland that host performances. "It's not just the closing of a bar – it's the drag, the DJs, the kings, the family, the culture."

An air of lament hung over the club and bar staff on Thursday night – and online, with general manager Stephen Mayse writing "the ship is sinking fast" in a Facebook post. Longtime Bounce performers Danyel Vazquez and Sonshine La Ray also lamented the closing. The latter wrote in a Facebook post: "It hurts to know that this is a final draw for such a great establishment."

While the Bounce Facebook page was taken down after word got out on the closing, the club still plans to host a New Year's Eve blowout hosted by Kari Nickels. It will also host a Jan. 3 performance by renowned Las Vegas drag performer and Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry.