The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters Bar was one of Denver’s best-known lesbian bars and a vital gathering place for the city’s LGBTQ community from 1973 to 1996. Founded by Jan MacDonald and Jessie Gibbons, who moved to Colorado from Massachusetts, the bar opened at 3358 Mariposa Street and became Denver’s first lesbian-owned and operated bar. Known nationally as a welcoming space for women, the Three Sisters hosted music, comedy, community gatherings, and fundraisers that helped sustain Denver’s lesbian community such as for the feminist newspaper Big Mama Ragfor more than two decades.