This type of phenomenon continued into the late '70s and early '80s in Des Moines, Iowa. My first gay bar as an 18-year-old was a Des Moines dive called the Question Mark, because its only sign was a small question mark above an otherwise unmarked door in a small downtown building located on a hard-to-spot side street. The place also had an exit that led to a dark alley.

The only way to know it was there was to know it was there. I can't remember how I found it, maybe through the Spartacus Guide (remember those?) or maybe I got my hands on an underground gay newspaper.

The Question Mark was a bit faded and dingy inside, but to my eyes it was a fabulous Shangri La.

There was another gay bar in town, just a few blocks away, that I visited a few times. It was equally nondescript and hard to spot.