Lugares de interés (POIs) del Mapa
0: Pershing Square
Pershing Square was the center of gay ife for many years from the 1920s to the 1960s. It was the number one spot for cruising and there are a plethora of accounts of it being filled with queens and gay men. Most notably Pershing Square is described in detail in John Rechy's City of Night
Más sobre Pershing Square1: Ginger Rogers Beach
This stretch (and more) of Will Rogers beach has been affectionately called Ginger Rogers Beach because it has been the gay beach in Los Angeles dating as far back as there were gays in Los Angeles. The beach was a natural place for men to see other men wearing little clothing without the fear of being judged. It is on this beach that Christopher Isherwood met Don Barchardy and many other gay romances began.
Más sobre Ginger Rogers Beach2: UCLA
UCLA undoubtedly brought many young Gay men and women to the city and served as a beacon of knowledge. In the 1940s and 1950s Evelyn Hooker did the first studies on Gay men de-pathologizing homosexuality. Then in the Summer of 1981 Michael Gottlieb was the first doctor to discoer what would become known as HIV/AIDS
Más sobre UCLA3: The First Pride Parade 1970
The first pride parade was the idea of three gay leaders, Morris Kight, Troy Perry, and Bob Humphries who wanted to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. After multiple court cases and refusals to give a parade permit, they finally prevailed though they would have to hold their parade at 7pm. It was a small, but lively affair consisting of a few floats and cars and many marchers out and proud.
Más sobre The First Pride Parade 19704: Jimmy's Backyard
Jimmy's Backyard was a Hollywood Speakeasy that opened in 1929. It is considered one of Los Angeles' first Gay bars. Harry Hay recalled more than 400 gays and lesbians dressed in gowns and tuxedos dancing with same sex partners here in the mid 1930s.
Más sobre Jimmy's Backyard5: Club 808
Club 808 established in the early thirties was home to drinks, dancing and a fully staged drag revue. When the club opened permits which clearly stated the presence of female impersonators were easily granted, but by the late thirties, as Club 808 moved to a theater, the police began to harass patrons, killing business before 1940
Más sobre Club 8086: B.B.B.'s Cellar
B.B.B.'s Cellar started as a speakeasy, but was a beacon of the show business elite in the post-prohibition years of the 1940s. This post-prohibition floor show was called Boys Will Be Girls, Fred Monore did impersonations of the female stars in the audience. The club was frequented by Marlene Dietrich, William Hains James Cagney, Fifi Dorsay and Mae West.
Más sobre B.B.B.'s Cellar7: Mocambo
A Hollywood Nightclub that opened in January of 1941 where homosexuals weren't bothered as long as they were discreet, much::text like Ciro's and The Trocadero.
Más sobre Mocambo8: Ciro's
Ciro's opened as a premiere Hollywood Night club where homosexuals were tolerated as long as they were discreet. The original incarnation closed in 1957 but in the 1960s it reopened as an explicitly gay venue featuring the young female impersonator Jim Bailey.
Más sobre Ciro's9: Harold's
At 555 S. Main Street Harold's was the other long time gay bar that thrived off the gay hustlers from Pershing Square and the hub of the Pacific Electric Railway.
Más sobre Harold's10: The Waldorf
A long lived gay bar that thrived off clients from Pershing Square. Along with Cooper's Donuts and Harold's, this venue made this a vibrant block for gay life from the 1930s through the 1960s. (521 S. Main Street)
Más sobre The Waldorf11: The Mattachine Steps
The Mattachine Steps were named in honor the Mattachine Society the nations first homophile organization founded in 1950 by Harry Hay. The first meeting was held up these stairs in secret at Harry Hay's house. They organized the Homophile bill of rights and began the march for gay rights.
Más sobre The Mattachine Steps12: One Magazine Offices
The first One Magazine offices were on the second level up creaky stairs in a tiny building on Hill Street. One Magazine grew out of the West Hollywood Chapter of The Mattachine Society. It became a beacon of hope for the many who received it throughout the years.
Más sobre One Magazine Offices13: Cooper's Doughnuts
Cooper’s Doughnuts was between two prominent gay bars in downtown Los Angeles. It offered cheap food and brightly lit shelter for the queens and the hustlers. It was an easy target for aggressively anti-gay LAPD. One night the in 1959 crowds had taken too much and fought back when provoked. This was the first recorded retaliation of the LGBT minority. It went unreported in the major press, but was revealed in John Rechy's City of Night.
Más sobre Cooper's Doughnuts14: The If Club
The If Club was an important lesbian bar that opened in the 1940s but began to flourish in the 1950s. As it became more popular it came under scrutiny from the LAPD. By the 50s it was hard to stand outside without being arrested and dressing butch was sure to bring trouble. You also couldn’t park your car near the bar either The early issues of Vice Versa were distributed at the If Club until some patrons warned about the consequences of them being found.
Más sobre The If Club15: The Crown Jewel
Downtown on the corner of 8th and Olive the glowing neon crown beckoned office workers and other gay men into the Crown Jewel in the '40s and '50s. Near the library, The Crown Jewel had a different atmosphere from most gay bars, it required a coat and tie. That didn't stop the LAPD Vice Squad from entrapment. The Crown Jewel was owned by Harry Weiss the proprietor of two other gay bars and a lawyer since 1941, he regularly defended gaymen who arrested for homosexual activity.
Más sobre The Crown Jewel 16: Helen's - Gay Bar
Helen Branson ran a gay bar in this location called Helen's From the 1950s into the 1960s. Helen wrote a pro-gay book about owning and running a gay bar in 1957, this would immortalize Helen's. The book gives insight into what gay life was::text like in 1957. Additionally Dr. Kinsey made a visit to the bar in his research according to Branson.
Más sobre Helen's - Gay Bar17: The Four Star
The Four Star is one of the earliest if not the first gay bar in West Hollywood, it became a gay bar in 1961 after previously having a blue collar clientele.
Más sobre The Four Star 18: Christopher Isherwood Residence
Christopher Isherwood Residence. Isherwood was one of the most important authors of the 20th century. This is where he resided when he lived in Los Angeles. THis house is also the one he wrote about in his classic gay novel "A Single Man".
Más sobre Christopher Isherwood Residence19: The Hub / Pride Hall
The gay bar, the Hub, was referred to as Pride Hall because PRIDE (Personal Rights in Defense and Education), one of the early gay rights groups, had its meetings there. PRIDE was founded in 1966 by Steven Ginsberg who had enough of the buttoned up nature of the homophile movement; he wanted activism. PRIDE would spring into action in 1967 after the Black Cat Raid. This is also the earliest known association of PRIDE with the gay movement.
Más sobre The Hub / Pride Hall20: The Palms
The Palms is often referred to as Los Angeles' oldest Lesbian Bars that isn't quite the case it debuted in 1967 and has remained open in the same location. In its early days the palms was said to resemble the earliest lesbian bars in the city the clientele was mostly those who worked in Hollywood and tried to look::text like starlets.
Más sobre The Palms21: The Black Cat Tavern
The Black Cat Tavern had been open only two months when it was brutally raided on New Year's Eve 1967. One man's spleen was ruptured and another man's skull was fractured. This action was not taken lying down. With the help of new organizations::text like PRIDE, marches were organized on Sunset Boulevard. The spirit of revolt was in the air. These protests did not catch on the way Stonewall would two years later in part because of Los Angeles' sprawling nature.
Más sobre The Black Cat Tavern22: The Plush Pony
The Plush Pony was a lesbian bar in East Los Angeles that catered mainly the Latino community. It opened in the 1960s and operated through 2006 or so. This was a refuge for working class lesbians. Pat Alderete shares her reminisces of finding acceptance at the Plush Pony with rearing stallions around the door and fire spewing out their nostrils.
Más sobre The Plush Pony23: Metropolitan Community Church - Encore Theater
Metropolitan Community Church was founded in October 1968 by Troy Perry. Perry believed that gays too needed religion. Many flocked to the services so he was constantly scrambling for new venues as the congregation would grow each week. Early services were held at the 385 seat Encore Theater on Melrose Avenue. Perry performed some of the first public gay wedding ceremonies beginning with the wedding of two Latino men in 1969.
Más sobre Metropolitan Community Church - Encore Theater 24: Gay Liberation Front/Morris Kight Residence
In december of 1969 queer activists launched a branch of the Gay Liberation Front, they did so here at Morris Kight's house. The Gay Liberation Front would be a crucial force in gay Los Angeles throughout the 1970s staging protests and demonstrations throughout the city. Morris Kight was one of the founders. Morris Kight is often referred to as the godfather of gay politics. He launched the Gay Community Services Center and did more than almost anyone else for gay men in Los Angeles.
Más sobre Gay Liberation Front/Morris Kight Residence25: The Gay Community Services Center
This is the first location of the Gay Community Services center which opened in 1971. This location was then two lamely held-together Victorian houses. Morris Kight and Don Killhefner, the godfathers of the GCSC, were able to rent these because no other tenant would take them. The GCSC had social service programs, runaway teenagers in a room full of mattresses, counselors, job finders, private rooms and countless other professionals to help the gay cause. They only managed to keep the lights on with donations from wealthy gay patrons.It was the first gay entity to be granted nonprofit status by the IRS, the first institution with the word gay in its name to receive federal funding and be licensed by the state of California, all while anti-gay polices were in effect.
Más sobre The Gay Community Services Center26: The Gay Women's Services Center
Gay Women’s Services Center opened in February 1971 thanks in large part to Del Whan a lesbian who had been in the Peace Corps. It was the first organization in America that was incorporated as a social service agency exclusively for lesbians. It expanded in 1972 under the leadership of Sharon Raphael and Mina Meyere. The center bailed gay women out of jail, rescued them from mental institutions, and provided shelter. There were activities every night of the week. Gay Women’s Services Center became the first telephone book listing of the word "gay" in Los Angeles.
Más sobre The Gay Women's Services Center27: The Sisterhood Bookstore
The Sisterhood Bookstore was one of the first Lesbian bookstores in the country. It catered to a clientele who couldn't find books about them anywhere else. Co-Owner, Simone Wallace, said that sales increased for the first twenty years of operation until the chain book stores caught on to the budding LGBT market. There were lines around the block whenever famous Lesbian authors such as Lily Tomlin or Jane Wagner would come for signings. Sisterhood operated from 1972 until its closing in 1999.
Más sobre The Sisterhood Bookstore28: The Catch One
The Catch One which opened in 1972 was the first gay bar in Los Angeles propper to be aimed specifically at African American Gays and Lesbians who were systematically excluded and harassed from white gay bars at the time. It still operates today.
Más sobre The Catch One29: The Women's Building
In 1973, the Women's Building opened in the former Chiounard Art Institute just off MacArthur Park. It had art galleries, studios, classrooms, coffeehouse, a bookstore, a theater, and a travel agency. It was intended as a venue for women and lesbians to create a new women's culture. There was no hierarchy at the building so those who participated did so in all aspects including janitorial tasks. It operated until 1991.
Más sobre The Women's Building30: The Women’s Saloon & Parlor
The Women’s Saloon & Parlor opened in 1974 on the 4900 block of Fountain Avenue. This was where the Lesbian Feminist workers and activists would go to relax after a long day. This bar had a client base that was 90% women and much::text like the Feminist organizations, it had no hierarchy which means that every employee participated equally.
Más sobre The Women’s Saloon & Parlor 31: Former Location of the Rampart Police Station
The Rampart division of the LAPD had always been tough on homosexuals, but in 1974 Morris Kight and the Gay Liberation Front took the fight to the LAPD when they attempted to get themselves arrested in order to show the injustice of current anti-gay sex laws that were on the books. The police refused to arrest them.
Más sobre Former Location of the Rampart Police Station32: Studio One
Owner Scott Forbes conceived Studio One in 1972 after asking Lee Glaze, owner of The Patch, how he drew a crowd. Glaze offered his mailing list and Studio One was born in a World War II munitions factory off Santa Monica Boulevard. It was cavernous and fitted with strobes, speakers and a long hall of mirrors. Studio One became the hottest disco joint in the country. It is here that the appropriation and export of gay culture to the American main stream began. Scott Forbes, founder, became the disco king and he turned that into a political power in the gay community, sitting on boards of Gay LA’s most important organizations and agencies. Studio One was hardly progressive place though: nonwhites were rarely let in and females of any kind were similarly excluded.
Más sobre Studio One33: Mark IV Bath House Raid
In 1975, there was a private party at Mark IV to benefit the Gay Community Services Center which included a mock slave auction. As the first volunteer was “sold” 105 LAPD officers, helicopters and dozens of squad cars surrounded the bathhouse. There was a busload of arrestees. Forty men were booked on a 1871 statute for trafficking in human slaves, a felony. Morris Kight rallied the troops at Troupers Hall in Hollywood where Troy Perry raised money for the arrestees defense by defiantly auctioning off more volunteers. Politicians renounced the LAPD’s actions and they were cowed.
Más sobre Mark IV Bath House Raid34: Carriage Trade - MECLA's First Meeting
Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles (MECLA) was the most powerful gay political force ever seen in the city or the nation. David Mixner was in part the mastermind behind the group. They attempted not to reach out to the community but instead to spend time with very wealthy potential donors and get them to donate large sums. Their first event was a the banquet at Carriage Trade the popular gay bar and restaurant in 1976.
Más sobre Carriage Trade - MECLA's First Meeting35: A Different Light Bookstore
A Different Light Bookstore opened in 1979 and was among the first gay book stores. It served as a beacon of the gay community for many years. Famous gay authors including Christopher Isherwood, Allan Ginsburg, William Burroughs and Larry Kramer had signings there over the years. The store started a famed lesbian writers series in 1984. The store was so successful that it opened stores in San Francisco and West Hollywood.::text Like Sisterhood, once LGBT books became available at major chains, A Different Light suffered. This location closed in 1992.
Más sobre A Different Light Bookstore36: The 8709
The 8709 located on 8709 West Third Street, just outside the boundaries of West Hollywood was the bathhouse from the late 1970s to 1984. It was the hottest place in the city, but was never advertised: you knew it only if you were recommended for membership by a current member. There was no sign, only an unmarked doorway down an alley. The 8709 was part of Sheldon Andelson's gay empire, which gave him both cash and clout in the gay community, but he was forced to close 8709 down in 1984 as the AIDS epidemic raged and he rose to prominence on the statewide political scene.
Más sobre The 870937: Peanuts
Peanuts was an upscale Lesbian disco that was often referred to as the Lesbian Studio One. At Peanuts it was all about the look, designer clothes. Privileged girls drove their expensive cars to this disco on the border of Beverly Hills. The lesbians here were as vain and uninhibited as the men at Studio One. As the 80s continued, Peanuts became more mixed.
Más sobre Peanuts38: VIVA!
VIVA! is a organization that supports and empowers gay and lesbian latino artists. It was founded in 1981. At first ADIS drove many of its programs Lesbian voices were crucial and they were elected to the board and hired on staff. At this location are their archives.
Más sobre VIVA! 39: The Blue Parrot
The Blue Parrot was an influential Disco club and bar in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Más sobre The Blue Parrot40: Mother Lode
The Mother Lode is a gay bar that opened during the early 1980s. While today it is known for its casualness, it was described then as having the feel of a photo shoot, carefully lit and staged.
Más sobre Mother Lode41: Project 10 at Fairfax High School
Project 10 was the brainchild of Virginia Uribe a teacher at Fairfax High School who had seen queer youth be bullied and was determined to fight back. She started a Gay Support Group in 1982 and called it Project 10, she wanted to keep the kids from despair. Project 10 became the inspiration for GSA's around the country.
Más sobre Project 10 at Fairfax High School42: West Hollywood
West Hollywood was originally an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County called Sherman. It had long been a haven for LGBT Angelenos because it was not under the jurisdiction of the vicious LAPD. In 1984, just before it became the city of West Hollywood, it was 40% gay and 30% seniors. Incorporation allowed West Hollywood to pass rent control legislation which was one of the major political forces that created West Hollywood. Additionally it became "a city of our own" for LGBT people. In November of 1984 West Hollywood won cityhood and three gay people won their bids to sit on the five person city council.
Más sobre West Hollywood 43: AIDS Walk Los Angeles
This is the starting point of the first AIDS walk held in Los Angeles on June 28th 1985. The idea was brought to APLA by Craig R. Miller and though they expected about one thousand participants and a modest haul of $100,000 they ended up with more than 4,500 and $673,000.
Más sobre AIDS Walk Los Angeles44: AIDS Project Los Angeles
The administrative offices of AIDS Project Los Angeles were moved here in 1986. APLA started as a an aids information hotline and grew into the most crucial AIDS services centers in Los Angeles as the epidemic raged on. They provided healthcare and ental services as well as case workers for those with HIV and AIDS. Their decision to move their offices away from the front lines in 1986 would be criticized in the community.
Más sobre AIDS Project Los Angeles45: ACT UP/LA Demonstration at the Federal Building
ACT UP's Los Angeles chapter had been controversial among the established gay agencies and political groups, but by 1989 the situation had become so dire that they all banned together to protest the Federal Building. A huge mob formed around the building urging the swift approval of new AIDS drugs. Eighty activists volunteered to be arrested, among them veterans Troy Perry and Tori Osborn the director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. It is among the largest civil disobedience actions of the LGBT rights movement.
Más sobre ACT UP/LA Demonstration at the Federal Building46: Bienestar
Bienestar is an organization that was created in 1989 to deal with HIV and AIDS in the Latino community. It thrives today offering many services and outreach with multiple offices across the Los Angeles area.
Más sobre Bienestar47: AB 101 Protests
In 1991 the republican governor of California, Pete Wilson, vetoed a law that would've made discrimination against Gays and Lesbians in the work force immediately. This was one of many protest sites spread throughout Los Angeles. Protests descended on West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Ventura blvd and at LAX. For 17 days, more than 50,000 people came out to protest AB 101. It was the largest civil disobedience in the 1960s. These riots were sparked in part by a group called Queer Nation.
Más sobre AB 101 Protests48: Encore Hall LGBT Senior Housing
Ivy Bottini, a lesbian activist, along with John Fournier, head of Senior Servcies at the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, helped found Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing which in turn helped created Encore Hall. 30% of the apartments are set aside for those who are in danger of being homeless. The groundbreaking took place in 2005.
Más sobre Encore Hall LGBT Senior Housing