A rainbow flag hangs among Halloween decorations and framed movie stills in Julius’ bar, a divey haunt in Manhattan’s West Village. Light floods in through the window on a brisk October morning, warming the area where Dick Leitsch, 82, sits on a stool.

It’s hard to believe this place, which today caters to a largely gay clientele, is the same place where decades ago in 1966, Leitsch was denied service for being gay.