Five years ago, designer Darian Newman read an article in the LA Times about a trove of matchbooks from gay bars—many long closed—that would be displayed at the Los Angeles Public Library. It’s a shame, he remembers thinking, that the public only had a few weeks to see these artifacts. “It's really awesome that people are archiving these and preserving the history,” he says, “but at the same time, they're just kind of dying in the archive because no one's ever going to get to see them.”

It wasn’t long until he began to collect the matchbooks from old gay bars himself. He’d source from eBay and from collectors and artists with vast troves of these matchbooks—mementoes of gay bars past turned to queer historical objects. He turned his collection into a book, Cruising: Gay Matchbooks which showcases the more than 200 matchbooks page after page, interspersed with essays from writers like Peter Berlin, Michael Bullock, and Rick Castro.

Now, Newman’s partnered with Sniffies to release a collaborative capsule collection of t-shirts— you can shop the collection here. The tees feature imagery from Chicago’s Side Track and San Francisco’s The Stud, both longstanding queer bars that have been institutions in the community for decades. But, Newman’s book reminds us, many of these venues could become all but forgotten to history but for the work of archivists and historians. To that end, here are the five now-closed spots Newman wishes he could spend a night.

Club Bath, San Francisco

“It was just so iconic, and such a part of the culture,” Newman says. “And even in the way that things are coming back right now, it's never quite the same.” Club Baths was a chain of bathhouses with locations across the country, but San Francisco’s location was one of the most popular—reportedly 3,000 men would visit every week. 

Meat Rack, Los Angeles 

“The way that Rick Castro wrote about it in the book is so vivid and just transports you there.” Newman says. “He’s talking about all these different people—he's like ‘I was there with Rick Owens and Vaginal Davis,’” Although it was closed in the late 90’s, Meat Rack was known for having a particularly wild back room. 

Florent, New York

This legendary restaurant in New York’s meatpacking district closed in 2008 due to rising rents, but had been a stalwart in the area for years. “I don't think the idea of a gay restaurant quite like this really exists anymore or ever will again,” Newman says. “I'd love to go to one of the Bastille Day parties.”

The Saint, New York

“It's always going to be the big iconic institution,” Newman says. ”I just can't help but feel like there's so much I missed out on.” When it opened in 1980’s New York, The Saint’s 5,000 square foot space had been one of the most expensive nightclub renovations of the time. Just a year after its opening, The Saint hosted the first Black Party, a version of which still runs today, though the original club space was closed in 1988.

Sutro Bath House, San Francisco

“The fact that I lived in San Francisco for nearly a decade and never heard anyone mention it makes me really curious,” Newman says. “Their headline "Hot & Nasty" is also pretty enticing.”