Exploring LGBTQ+ Sites in New Orleans

 ^{Done as part of graduate-level thesis research for the School of Architecture at Tulane University. Authored by Sarah Capri Quinn for the degree of Master of Science in Historic Preservation. BETA. Last updated April 2024. For the best website experience, please use a desktop, laptop, or tablet.} 

This project is part of an ongoing research effort to identify and map an index of important LGBTQ+ sites in New Orleans, Louisiana. This map is intended to serve as a visual tool to contextualize the many queer sites across the city and produce analysis of not only what sites exist both with and without recognition, but how these places interact with each other, and how we can tell the story of a place through preservation of LGBTQ+ sites and narratives. This map is most heavily supported by primary source archival documentation.

The driving ambition behind this project is to add to the growing body of work by many members of an advocates for LGBTQ+ communities, and to make an important contribution towards documenting, elevating, interpreting, and preserving sites of LGBTQ+ importance in New Orleans.

Each dot on the map represents a site that has been identified and researched. The map ranges in time period from 1930 to the present, and many sites have had several decades of impact on LGBTQ+ people in New Orleans. It is important to acknowledge that the index of sites collected and researched for this project so far should be viewed as an ongoing list; New Orleans is a city of rich and layered queer history across spaces of all kinds, and this research will be continued over time. The map has been colored by the types of resources that were the most accessible, namely primary resources donated to the Tulane University Special Collections Library and the LGBT Archives Project of Louisiana. Overall, there are over 100 catalogued sites within New Orleans that appear on the map, and the list continues to grow in order to provide a more textured and diverse range of LGBTQ+ historical sites.

To navigate the maps, scroll to investigate the full map and the interactive filters that allow the information to be categorized by Site Typology (the type of site/building by architectural classification) and Cultural Use (the types of activities that occurred within the identified space as they relate to LGBTQ+ history).

To change the map viewports, click the 'expand' symbol at the top right corner of each map and zoom in or out using your mouse scroll, or simply use the 'plus' and 'minus' buttons at the bottom right corner. When clicked, each point on the map includes its address, a brief description of the site, its historic name, period of significance, main cultural uses as they relate to LGBTQ+ significance, building typology, its status (existing, demolished, abandoned), and the source of the researched information.

This index of sites is limited to sites that fall within the boundaries of the city of New Orleans, and is also limited to sites with firmly identifiable physical locations. It is important to note that the index and map reflect aspects of LGBTQ history that fall within these limitations; this mean that locations that utilized P.O. Boxes or phone numbers to retain anonymity have been omitted from the final index of identified locations.

Additionally, important places outside of New Orleans were recorded, but they have also been omitted from the final index and map as to clearly limit the boundaries of the project in order to narrow focus.

To avoid flattening a rich and textured history, the recognition that an index of over 100 important LGBTQ+ sites could still be lacking in variety and depth of representation serves as an acknowledgement that any research into the legacy of queerness throughout history exists as a single piece of a complex quilt. Though a fraction of a history not to be viewed in totality, the sites that are represented in this thesis still carry an important weight in beginning to identify the multifaceted spatial relationships throughout a period of LGBTQ history.

Though there is an inspiring history of LGBTQ activism across the state of Louisiana, especially in more rural areas where voices had to face unique struggles, this project is limited in scope to queer history in New Orleans. In the future, it is my hope that this project can grow to include important locations across the entirety of Louisiana. In order to support this future ambition, throughout the research process, I have maintained a growing list of important places, organizations, and people across the state that lacked an identifiable location or fell outside the city boundaries. This list includes:

 1.     Skip Ward, former home address at 112 Pelican Drive, Pineville, Louisiana

 _{Skip Ward, an incredibly vocal activist in rural Louisiana in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, lived in Pineville, which is across the river from Alexandria. Skip was instrumental in many realms of LGBT activist throughout his lifetime, including being instrumental in the creation of the Division of Lesbian and Gay Concerns within the Unitarian Universalist Church in the 1970s, the first special outreach to gay individuals in an established American protestant church. During the 1990s, he wrote and published Le Beau Mode, one of the early newsletters directed towards the gay Louisiana community. He was the lead plaintiff in the federal lawsuit filed to challenge the constitutionality of the Louisiana sodomy statute, as well as an early member of the LAGPAC state Board of Directors. He was a long-time member and leader of the Radical Faeries movement, and was overall one of the most vocal activists for gay concerns in rural Louisiana.} 

2.     Langston-Jones Society, unidentifiable physical location

  _{The Langston-Jones Society played a major role in supporting the black gay and lesbian and gay community. In 1986, Leonard Green from the Langston-Jones Society began working with the NO/AIDS Task Force out of concern for AIDS care and support for black gay and lesbians in New Orleans.} 

 3.     St. Anthony’s Home in Baton Rouge

  _{In the 1980s, St. Anthony’s Home donated their space to be used as a place for PWAs (People With AIDS) to go home to after being discharged from hospital treatment. In 1987, there were some 20-30 people on a waiting list. St. Anthony’s Home remained an operational living residence for people who require support due to being disabled from HIV and AIDS, until a closure within the last several years.} 

 4.     The Gulf Gender Alliance in New Orleans, unidentifiable physical location

  _{The Gulf Gender Alliance in New Orleans is a Transgender Support and Social Organization serving trans individuals and their loved ones. In 2001, their stated objective was to “help others understand and express their gender identities, and to advance the rights of transgender people”. Gulf Gender Alliance still operates and supports trans people and concerns today.} 

 5.     The Lavender Moon, unidentifiable physical location

  _{Lavender Moon, referenced as being a Women’s Society of New Orleans and a key group in the organization of queer women’s social concerns.} 

 6.     Womyn of Color, unidentifiable physical location

  _{Referenced as being a group of “unified lesbian sisters” as well as a “networking group for African-American, Latina, Native-American, and Asian American lesbians”, lacked a formal location for their endeavors. They are also referenced as holding meetings at Charlene’s on the first and third Tuesdays of each month during an indeterminate year.} 

 7.     Northwest Louisiana AIDS Task Force, located at 710 Travis, Shreveport

  _{In the 1980s and 1990s, The Northwest Louisiana AIDS Task Force and Greater Louisiana AIDS Defense provided HIV and AIDS support for residents of the region. They held many benefits and fundraisers to aid in educational and service ambitions, including a performance by signer-dancer-actress Debbie Reynolds at the Strand Theater in 1988.} 

 8.     Gay Fest Acadiana, held in Lafayette, beginning in the 1980s

  _{Gay Fest Acadiana was the annual Pride celebration for the region over the course of a week at the end of June through the beginning of July. It historically included a week of events, interfaith memorial services for those lost to AIDS, concerts, pageants, and ending in a 4th of July barbecue. It was held by Gay Fest Council. Throughout the week of the 1983 festival, the event locations included: St. Jules Pavilion at 116 St. Jules Street for a memorial service; Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center at 309 Bruin Street for a Gay/Lesbian information fair; a cocktail party at Fantasy I Winwood Shopping Center; pageants at Club C’Est La Guerre, 607 N. University; and the 4th of July Barbecue at Frank’s, 1807 Jefferson Street.} 

 9.     The Gay and Lesbian Student Alliance (GALA) at Tulane, unidentifiable physical meeting location, mailing address was Gary Edwards at 5926 Pitt St., New Orleans

  _{The Tulane GALA sponsored informal get-togethers, monthly meetings, films, and lectures for the students, faculty, and staff of Tulane University. Loyola University students were also welcome to all events.} 

 10.  Louisiana Gay Political Action Caucus (LAGPAC), unidentifiable physical location

  _{An organization with several regional chapters serving their communities and advocating for gay rights and social concerns over several decades. Created in 1980 and originally based in Alexandira, Louisiana, LAGPAC was primarily a political organization that investigated the stances of political candidates and orchestrated voter registration initiatives alongside editorials that were circulated through mailing lists. At the height of LAGPAC’s activity, it had chapters in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Acadiana. It ceased operations in the early 2000s.} 

 11.  AGGI Awards Night, St. Bernard Parish Civic Center, Chalmette

  _{The Academy of the Golden Goddess, which was formed to celebrate Gay Carnival Participants, held annual award ceremonies beginning in 1977. In 1985, the awards were held at the St. Bernard Parish Civic Center at 8245 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, which was their eighth annual celebration.} 

Due to the resources used, these sites and more do not appear in the interactive map, but their importance is of note, and I hope that myself and future researchers will be able to expand on the initial efforts presented in this thesis. The indexed sites are but a small fraction of the queer stories to be told from Louisiana’s history, and I wish for my own work to spark further interest and additional research that allows for expansion in both the map boundaries and the types of sites I have been able to cover.

The sites represented on the map are split across several building typological categories; the most common typology is Bars, Clubs, or Restaurants, with 39 of the places falling into this categorization. 21 of the indexed sites were categorized as Organizational or Community Spaces, making it the second most common site typology. Of the remaining sites, 14 of them are identified as Residences, 11 of them as Stores or Businesses, six as Cultural Institutions, five as Medical Facilities, four as Public Spaces, and one Educational Institution.

The periods of significance for the sample of identified sites had a wide range of variation; some sites had specific events that were significant for singular days or short periods of time. Other sites became prominent spaces for meetings or social purposes and remain in use as LGBTQ places today. Overall, periods of significance were defined by decade, with the earliest ‘start’ dates beginning in the 1930s and the latest ‘start’ dates being the 2000s. 61 of the identified sites were significant over a period of more than one decade, and the most represented decade was the 1980s. This is largely dependent upon the primary sources consulted, as many of them included documentation that ranged from the 1970s-1990s.

These two factors are pointed out, in combination with other gaps in the research, in order to call attention to how the research could and should be expanded upon in the future, as well as to acknowledge that this is by no means a comprehensive representation of the full breadth of queer history in New Orleans.

Please see the following section for a full list of primary and secondary sources used in creating Exploring LGBTQ+ Sites in New Orleans.

Many local resources have heavily contributed to this project, including  The LGBT Archives Project of Louisiana , the  Historic New Orleans Collection , and the  Louisiana Research Collection at the Tulane Special Collections Library . Many thanks to the individual archivists and local experts in their guidance throughout this project.

In order to welcome feedback and information towards improving the ongoing map data, please reach out via  this form , which can be submitted anonymously.