The Nail Oklahoma City Country & Western Gay Bar T-Shirt | LGBTQ+ Nightlife History Tee

The Nail Oklahoma City Country & Western Gay Bar T-Shirt | LGBTQ+ Nightlife History Tee

Remember a place where country music, community, and Oklahoma City nightlife came together. This Walt & Pete® heritage T-shirt commemorates The Nail, an LGBTQ+ country-and-western bar once located at 2807 N.W. 36th Street in Oklahoma City.

The front features a distressed western emblem with a cowboy hat hanging from a single nail, accompanied by the bar’s name, city, and historic address. On the back, a larger graphic reinterprets an original 1983 advertisement with its memorable slogan, “The Friendliest Bar in Town—You Be the Judge.” A faded palette of aged cream, tobacco gold, dusty red, and muted blue gives both designs the appearance of well-preserved early-1980s bar ephemera.

The Nail is documented in LGBTQ+ publications by 1983 and remained listed through at least August 1984. Its advertisements describe a welcoming neighborhood bar with weekday piano entertainment, pool tournaments, happy hour, Sunday buffets, and free country-and-western dance lessons on Thursday nights. Later community recollections place the bar’s operation between 1982 and 1984 and associate it with owners Lee Burris or Burrus and John Neugebauer, although surviving advertisements identify them simply as Lee and John.

By April 1986, the same address and telephone number were listed under a new name: The Bunkhouse. The location subsequently continued its long association with Oklahoma City LGBTQ+ nightlife through establishments such as Levi’s and, later, businesses connected to the neighboring Partners 4 Club. The Nail represents an important chapter in the city’s queer social history—a place where people could meet, dance, play pool, and find community during a period when LGBTQ+ gathering places were rarely recorded by mainstream institutions.

More than a retro western shirt, this design preserves the memory of an authentic Oklahoma City gathering place whose story might otherwise disappear.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT

• Historically inspired front-and-back artwork
• Based on an original 1983 advertisement
• Authentic early-1980s country-western styling
• Designed for strong visibility on dark-colored shirts
• Distressed details recreate the character of vintage screen printing
• Commemorates Oklahoma City LGBTQ+ nightlife history
• Created for the Walt & Pete® Vintage Bar T-Shirt Collection

Product Features

• Soft cotton or cotton-blend fabric 
• High-quality DTG printed front and back graphics 
• Unisex modern fit 
• Breathable everyday comfort 
• Durable long-lasting print 

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: Gildan 5000, 2-year warranty in the EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Warnings, Hazard: For adults, Made in Nicaragua

Care instructions: Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F), Non-chlorine bleach as needed, Tumble dry: low heat, Do not iron, Do not dry clean