Rty’s: Where Were You ’62? | The Philalphia Gayborhood Gu

Contents:

• THE PHILALPHIA GAYBORHOOD GU
• A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.
• GAY CLUBS

THE PHILALPHIA GAYBORHOOD GU

More rearch needs to be done on the Turkish baths that served Philalphia bs men the 19th and early 20th century and their place the gay subculture. Rty was one of the first bar owners Philalphia who was gay herself. Unr Police Comissner Rizzo, raids on gay and lbian bars were an all too mon occurence 1960s Philly.

The police issued a statement that “homosexuals have been, are now, and will be treated equally wh heterosexuals. A year before the Stonewall rts, the raid on Rty’s and the reactn of lol lbians was a succs story for gay rights. A untry-style nightspot downtown At, this gay bar's reputatn as one of the iendlit waterg hol the cy is a well-served stat.

Frost (above), cir 1962 or 1963This year marks the 45th anniversary of the UpStairs Lounge arson, an event that was the largt mass murr of gay people U. History for over four s -- until the Pulse June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the popular gay bar loted on the edge of the French Quarter New Orleans.

A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

A major source of nam was the New Orleans branch of the Metropolan Communy Church, a recently formed gay-affirmg Christian nomatn wh ngregatns around the untry. Troy Perry, the founr of the Metropolan Communy Church, Larson's mother didn't claim Bill's body for burial bee she was embarrassed that he was publicly intified as a gay man who died a gay bar. Nancy fend her mom, sayg, "I wouldn't say she was open-md and I'm sure my father fely was not, but 's not like I thk they would disown [Larry] or anythg like that [for beg gay]....

GAY CLUBS

In the wake of the adly fire, most people turned their backs on the victims and the gay muny. “Why don’t they have more gay villas, ” Whe said, “I liked wrg Ernte. Whe, who liv New York, was a -founr of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and of the 1980s queer wrers group The Vlet Quill.

“Whether ’s evotive pictn of gay life durg the tumultuo 1980s, pastakgly rearched bgraphy or elegant memoir, Whe’s work stands out across s as s ronance … for a multu of voted rears. ) Whe has been lled the “godfather of gay Amerin lerature, ” Prceton Alumni Weekly has reported.

“I’m workg now on a sex memoir about the lov of my life, ” Whe, who 1977 -wrote wh Charl Silverste, “The Joy of Gay Sex, ” said. Beg gay was sful and illegal.