Hide & Seek
Founded: 1972
Founders: Joe Brady and Tommy Gehling
Closed: 2004
Address: 512 W Colorado Ave. Colorado Springs, CO. 80905
Website: Welcome To H&S (down by 2010)
The Hide & Seek was a gay bar founded by Joe Brady and Tom Gehling. It operated at 512 W. Colorado Avenue from 1975 - 2004.
The complex consisted of different sections over the years, such as Man Stop, Now Women, Disco Colorado, Cellar Baths, It's Country, and others. [2]
It's been a resource and haven for countless LGBTQ+ people who lived in Colorado Springs from the 70's, up until the bar's closure in 2004.
In the 70's and 80's, the club hosted famous acts, such as Donna Summer, The Village People, and Helen Reddy. [3][4]
History
In January 1972, Joe Brady and Tom Gehling purchased The Colorado Grill, which would later become the Hide 'n' Seek, originally located at 3 Colorado Ave. In the mid-1970's the bar moved to 512 W. Colorado Ave. The 5,000-foot building included a restaurant, lesbian club, sports bar, country bar, and leather bar. [5]
Business at the Hide & Seek went way down following the AIDS epidemic, according to owner Joe Brady.
The bar held over one hundred funerals for members of the local gay community, including the funeral of co-founder Tom Gehling in 2003.[5:1]
The business had to close partially due to fire code violations in 2004. (Did it continue beyond that?)[6]
Gallery
 An ad from the February 1982 issue of GAYSPEAK |
 Interview with Joe and Tommy from the June 1982 issue of GAYSPEAK |
 A rare photo of the inside of the club, published in the article "Out of the closet; Gays seek acceptance in conservative community." |
|---|---|---|
 The outside of the Hide & Seek from Colorado Ave. |
 Hide and Seek ad, September 1977 |
 |
Photo 1[^]
Photo 2[7]
Photo 3 [8]
Photo 4[9]
Photo 5 [10]
Community Impact
Worked at The Annex, their under 21 bar. It supposedly went straight, never could. At the time, Joe & Tommy from H&S seemed like bad parents who never put $ into the bar; but as an adult, I respect them SO MUCH for the community they created. The Pride Parade went from the parking lot for the H&S to Colorado Ave. In such a conservative, mall church, nationalism mistaken for patriotism military midwest town, that was fkng BRAVE. To be out? In the 70s? We’re not talking NYC. Incredibly strong willed to accept the consequences of being yourself, and they had ppl driving over from other states b/c that bar was RARE. In the 80s, Joe & Tommy opened a hostel for AIDS pts abandoned by friends & family. I admire them both, very much.
I experienced the Hide-n-Seek just before its eventual demise. There were about 3 gay bars in Colorado Springs back then, the Hide-N-seek being the most notable. The owners brought in talent from all over the U.S. and it catered to everyone in the gay community. I saw my 1st drag show there and It was impressive. No Wal-Mart wigs and goodwill dresses. Real talented professionals. I had only gone once before moving to Denver and it was well closed up when I moved back to Colorado Springs. It was truly a "complex". Its history would make one hell of a movie.
Points of Continued Research
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References
“Hide and Seek Complex.” Facebook Page. June 3, 2012. https://www.facebook.com/HideAndSeekComplex. ↩︎
“Gayspeak, April 1988.” Pikes Peak Gay Community Center, 11 Apr. 1988, Pikes Peak Library District Special Collections, 0461 Pride Center Box 5, Folder 9. ↩︎
Vitatoe, Aaron. “Growing Up Gay: Colorado Springs Business Owner Reflects on Coming out in the 1990s, a Transformative Time for the LGBTQ+ Community.” Https://Www.Kktv.Com, 8 June 2025, https://www.kktv.com/2025/06/08/growing-up-gay-colorado-springs-business-owner-reflects-coming-out-1990s-transformative-time-lgbtq-community/. ↩︎
Hide n’ Seek - Colorado Springs, CO - Gay Dance Complex That Has Welcomed the Village People and Donna Summer_. https://www.city-data.com/articles/Hide-n-Seek-Colorado-Springs-CO-Gay.html. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025 ↩︎
Patrons of gay bar gather to honor life of co-founder: Thomas Gehling 1944 | 2004 (2003-08-14). PPLD Digital Collections, accessed 08/01/2026, https://digitalcollections.ppld.org/nodes/view/664679 ↩︎ ↩︎
Fire-code violations halt 32-year-old gay club; Closure unrelated to sexual orientation, marshal says_ (2004-12-11). PPLD Digital Collections, accessed 31/12/2025, https://digitalcollections.ppld.org/nodes/view/1008549 ↩︎
Pikes Peak Gay Community Center, Gayspeak, vol. 4, no. 6 (June 1982). PPLD Digital Collections, accessed 16/01/2026, https://digitalcollections.ppld.org/nodes/view/998838 ↩︎
Meyers, Bob. Gay South Colorado. n.d. Photograph. Accessed February 23, 2026. http://www.bobmeyers.com/gay_south_colorado.htm. ↩︎
Out of the closet; Gays seek acceptance in conservative community (1991-06-02). PPLD Digital Collections, accessed 12/01/2026, https://digitalcollections.ppld.org/nodes/view/797074 ↩︎
OUT FRONT_. “Hide & Seek Advertisement.” September 9, 1977. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=OTF19770909-01.2.31.1. ↩︎
alldagarbage, “Memories of Hide n Seek in the 90s…,” Reddit Post, R/ColoradoSpringsLGBTQ, January 31, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/ColoradoSpringsLGBTQ/comments/1ieo6im/memories_of_hide_n_seek_in_the_90s/. ↩︎ ↩︎