photo via Wikipedia

Julius Tavern, a favorite haunt of Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, has been closed temporarily, by the board of health and mental hygiene. Here’s the sign:

It looks like it was closed last night, our early morning tippler tipster tells us.

The tavern on West 10th Street dates back to around 1867 and has been a gay watering hole since at least the 1960s. Significant in the struggle for Gay Liberation, Julius was the site of a “Sip-in” by The Mattachine Society which later precipitated a court ruling that gays had a right to peacefully assemble.

In the early 1970s, scenes from the film Boys in the Band were filmed there.

The bar was closed briefly, back in 2007 for non-payment of taxes, according to Eater.com.

There is a second sign in the window, handwritten:

Hopefully this landmark of both NYC and LGBT history will be up and running soon.