Playland Café

When the bar closed in 1998, Staffier, who had run Playland for 40 years, said that it was not the "den of iniquity" it was reputed to be, and that arrests had been rare.

[3] In the early days of the bar's operation, a mural on the wall depicted Playland regulars hobnobbing with movie stars.

"[5] In 1954, disturbed by reports of underage drinking by teenagers, authorities conducted undercover inspections of several Boston bars over a period of two and a half weeks.

[6] The following year, citing concerns about teenage drinking, the U.S. military declared Playland and ten other Boston bars off-limits to servicemen.

[9] Writing in 2007, Boston Globe reporter Robert Sullivan recalled it as "a Combat Zone bar known for its sketchy clientele, banged-up piano, and year-round Christmas lights.

Chanelle Pickett, 23, an African-American trans woman, met William Palmer, a white computer programmer, at Playland.

The bar lost its entertainment license in April 1998 after undercover police officers reported that drug dealers were using it as a base.