A Dominating Narrative: The Mineshaft and BDSM Culture in the Meatpacking District

835 Washington Street has had many past lives. In the 1930s, it was a humble butcher and meatpacking plant, until the industry declined in the 1950s and ‘60s. Then in the 1970s it was a smattering of revolving gay bars with rather unassuming titles: Cycle, Den, Zodiac, and O.K. Corral. Currently, it’s home to a candy store and a Thai restaurant, both new additions serving its gentrified neighborhood’s clientele of travelers, shoppers, and art connoisseurs. However, the building’s most intriguing stories may come from its time hosting the Mineshaft, a gay BDSM club whose patrons challenged biases about radical sexuality amid the HIV/AIDS crisis… read more >