Get ready to babble on about Babylon Nightclub, Morgantown’s oldest–made–newest LGBTQ+ club.
335 High Street may not seem like much from the outside—a stout brick building painted black, with a tucked-away alleyway entrance marked by vibrant posters and a cheery rainbow fence. These pops of color hint at what lies behind its innocuous silver doors: more than 30 years and counting of LGBTQ+ art, joy, and connection.
The building’s legacy as a home for Morgantown’s LGBTQ+ community began in the 1990s, when its loyal patrons knew it as The Class Act. In 2000, it adopted new owners and a name you might be more familiar with: Vice Versa. After Vice Versa closed in early 2024, the club reopened in October, dubbed Babylon Nightclub.
In spite of varying names, owners, and appearances, the space has remained a gay bar—each transformation was merely a pruner to its branches, rather than an ax to its trunk. After all, the club’s newest caretakers couldn’t imagine Morgantown without their home away from home.
When Logan Carpenter began his studies at West Virginia University in 2009, he visited a gay bar for the first time in his life—Vice Versa, of course—and loved it. George Medved, living in Pennsylvania at the time, was similarly enchanted by the club’s uninhibited atmosphere and lively patrons, despite the distance from home. Medved and his friends would pile into one car before setting their sights on Vice Versa—much like patrons from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and as far away as Tennessee do today. It was during one of these trips that he met Carpenter.
“It was the only safe space that Morgantown really had at the time,” says Carpenter.
In 2020, Vice Versa closed its doors for more than a year to keep its patrons safe during the pandemic. Then, in 2023, co-owners Montaz Morgan and James Yost announced their retirement. Carpenter and Medved were faced with a text from Yost and an unexpected offer: to continue the legacy of 335 High Street.
“James had some ideas, we had some ideas, and the groundwork was laid,” says Medved. “We were like, ‘Well, it’s been closed for months, and we really missed it, so if this is something that we can make happen—we’re going to make it happen.’”
And make it happen, they have. Although Morgantown has carved out other safe spaces for its LGBTQ+ residents, Medved says that losing 335 High Street would have had a severe impact on the community.
“Last Pride Month, you could tell everybody was wandering around, not really sure where we were supposed to go. While the bars were having queer-based events, we knew those aren’t typically our spaces,” he recalls of the time during Vice Versa’s closure. “It had a big impact on me. I really missed seeing everybody.”
This June, folks won’t be left wondering where to flock—Babylon is keeping Morgantown entertained each weekend during its first Pride Month since opening. In addition to the lipsync–drag performance–karaoke lineup of the June 13–15 Morgantown Pride Ball, patrons can choose from acts by RuPaul’s Drag Race icons, dance parties, and more.
Babylon’s regular hours are Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., and Sunday from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Keep an eye on the club’s social media pages, because Carpenter and Medved have big plans for more sober events, extended hours, and a full food menu.
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