I remember that time well, as a teen in the 70s and young adult in the 80s. In college I bought the Damron guide - more of a travel guide and bar directory than a cruising guide - and I used it when going on a trip or looking some places here in Texas.
I moved to DC for grad school, left halfway though, and my first "real" job had me working in an office starting around 7:30 am. I was allowed to arrange my schedule to be in front of rush hour, come home, and then wander around the city before the museums and other special DC attractions closed for the day.
There definitely was always an awareness of the time and my schedule and my responsibilities. I took some evening classes for work at GWU and discovered quite a few cruisy toilets on campus. Then there were the cruisers on the Metro and the guys sitting in Dupont Circle who might have a nearby apartment. Those looooong escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro station were great for seeing who was looking at who and who was looking at you.
Of course, this is also referencing the other discussion
Cruising 1970s, Cruising 2015 and the time and cost considerations that make cruising more appealing than going out to some "conventional" meeting place:
“I have to work early tomorrow. This is easy.”
Both
Spartacus and
Damron have online versions now. Spartacus seems to be down at the moment, or at least inaccessible from my laptop. Damron now requires paid membership to view the places in their database, although non-paying members can view "featured destinations" and "upcoming events and tours."
About CFS, I think what distinguishes it from these predecessors is that it was the online successor of STEAM Magazine and that both STEAM and CFS always had a sex-positive editorial context born in the early years of HIV/AIDS. That came from Scott O'Hara and from Keith, and was part of their response to sex panic. STEAM and CFS were unabashedly about finding and having sex and sort of celebrating it in the face of fear and stigma. CFS has always also included public and semi-public places as well as adult bookstores and such that are not gay-specific but which are actually frequented by men seeking men.
I wish I could reach the Spartacus site now, partly to look it over and see their current online model (free? paid? both? both with restrictions? - this is important as I develop plans on how to make CFS profitable again, although I intend to keep all the content readable by anyone, whether member or not, whether or not there is payment in some form, etc.) but also because they have always had so many more international places than CFS. I've bookmarked so many web sites of bars, clubs, resorts, etc. that need to be added to the Sex Listings but I haven't had time to add them. I know the CFS Sex Listings will always be incomplete and have inaccuracies, but it's important to offer our members and guests the best information possible.
~ Bob