Sun, Sand, and Sk: Fire Island’s Gay Haven the Neteen-Seventi | The New Yorker

Contents:

• BEFORE STONEWALL, CHERRY GROVE: HOW A BEACH TOWN BEME A GAY 'SAFE HAVEN'
• FIRE ISLAND GAY TRAVEL
• THE VERY GAY HISTORY OF FIRE ISLAND
• SUN, SAND, AND SK: FIRE ISLAND’S GAY HAVEN THE NETEEN-SEVENTI
• SWEET ESPE: PHOTOGRAPHS OF FIRE ISLAND’S CHERRY GROVE SHOW ITS HISTORY AS A GAY SANCTUARY
• GAY BEACH STATNS PLAN FOR SUMMER, WH PANMIC MD
• FIRE ISLAND GAY BARS
• A GAY GUI TO FIRE ISLAND
• THE P BEACHFIRE ISLANDMENUHOTELSBARSDANCE CLUBSGAY BEACHTHE P BEACH

BEFORE STONEWALL, CHERRY GROVE: HOW A BEACH TOWN BEME A GAY 'SAFE HAVEN'

From Osr Wil’s vis to the island 1882, to the steady velopment of Cherry Grove as “Ameri's First Gay and Lbian Town, ” Fire Island has long been a home and haven to LGBTQ visors and rints alike. Long before the Stonewall Rts set the movement for Gay Liberatn to motn, Fire Island provid an important enclave to rints and visors at a time when almost everythg about livg openly as a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, or queer (LGBTQ) person was illegal the Uned Stat.

The Cherry Grove Communy Hoe is exceptnally signifint for the enormo role played shapg what gradually evolved to Ameri's First Gay and Lbian Town. As anizatns, the Cherry Grove Property Owners Associatn and Cherry Grove Arts Projects profoundly fluenced the muny's velopment, facilatg the gradual social acceptance, self-affirmatn, and tegratn of s gay and lbian rints to Cherry Grove's erng affairs and civic life.

FIRE ISLAND GAY TRAVEL

This tegratn of LGBTQ rints to daily life and events at s muny hoe afford Cherry Grove a sgular stat; beme the one of the first and, for many years, the only gay and lbian fluenced geography the Uned Stat. Its metamorphosis played out agast turbulent social and polil upheavals -- our natn's rponse to the pre- and early days of the homosexual liberatn movement. The 1969 uprisg at the Stonewall Inn, which is largely creded as the turng pot the gay civil rights movement, has been documented by numero scholars.

THE VERY GAY HISTORY OF FIRE ISLAND

A few away, was said to be a welg muny of gay people. Hartmann walked down, and what she saw is on display at a new exhib at the New-York Historil Society, as well as chronicled the 1993 book “Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years Ameri's First Gay and Lbian Town” by Esther Newton.

Hartmann, now 90, was terviewed for the exhib, “Safe/Haven: Gay Life 1950s Cherry Grove, ” which opens Friday at the New-York Historil Society, on Manhattan's Upper Wt Si. And I’m gay. Hot Hoe, Grove Archiv CollectnCherry Grove was one of the first gay beach towns the Uned Stat, jog a handful of LGBTQ vatn spots and rorts that beme popular the pre-Stonewall era, along wh plac like Provcetown, Massachetts, and Sgatuck-Douglas, Michigan.

In Cherry Grove, gay rints were able to form a muny, have a voice how thgs were n and be out. Cherry Grove Archiv CollectnCherry Grove was different om the cy, where the gay bars were n by the mob, acrdg to Sargent, who scribed the urban waterg hol as “dark and seedy clubs” where “you always had to be reful that the lights would e on, ” signalg a police raid. ” Cherry Grove ntued to evolve after the 1950s, movg om a sanctuary for mostly whe and affluent gay men and women to a more clive place wh the advent of the 1960s, as the civil rights movement gaed tractn and more mercial real tate the area led to affordable hog optns for greater swaths of the muny.

SUN, SAND, AND SK: FIRE ISLAND’S GAY HAVEN THE NETEEN-SEVENTI

"Cherry Grove Archiv CollectnPart of the missn behd “Safe/Haven: Gay Life 1950s Cherry Grove” is to create an archive where there has been none.

“It's gettg that material out there for people to see and to rewre our history a way that has been very blank bee we tend to thk that gay life started at Stonewall. … People have a look at gay history before Stonewall. ” Today, Cherry Grove remas a beloved summer statn for LGBTQ beachgoers, particularly lbians, as has the adjog muny of the Fire Island P, which has tradnally tered to gay men.

« Back to New YorkFire Island P is the prime playground of the New York gay muny affectnately named ‘Chelsea wh sand’. Thoands of gay men scend on a small village of only a few dozen permanent rints every summer for swimmg, sunbathg and general has everythg you need: a mara, rtrants, bars, a gym, a large open-air dance stage perfect for circu parti, retail shops, a pool – even a post office and a police partment.

SWEET ESPE: PHOTOGRAPHS OF FIRE ISLAND’S CHERRY GROVE SHOW ITS HISTORY AS A GAY SANCTUARY

And, of urse, gay men is not, but who unts the money when one is havg so much fun?

The Gay Travel Experience: Fire Island P, New York. Only reachable by ferry and nnected entirely by boardwalks, the seclud Fire Island P and Cherry Grove neighborhoods are tly a gay paradise.

GAY BEACH STATNS PLAN FOR SUMMER, WH PANMIC MD

They’ve grown to bee one of the most popular gay statns the world as a summer retreat.

Fire Island P was historilly a safe haven for gay men to exprs themselv eely. In ntrast to nearby lmer gay-popular towns like the Hamptons, people e to Fire Island for an actn-packed LGBT getaway. Before gettg to the tails of this Fire Island gay gui, the sectn below briefly vers the prec history of the Fire Island gay muni.

Brief History of the Fire Island Gay Communy. When gay and lbian members of society had no protectns agast discrimatn based on sexual orientatn, the hamlets on Fire Island were leral p om mastream life. Over time they have blossomed to today’s wonrful llective Fire Island gay muny.

FIRE ISLAND GAY BARS

Over the years, the gay muni of Fire Island P and Cherry Grove have ntued to grow populary, even spe stctive events like hurrin and buildg fir.

A GAY GUI TO FIRE ISLAND

The LGBT muny has proved rilient matag our sacred gay paradise outsi of btlg New York Cy. Fire Island Gay Hotels, Rentals & Where to Stay.

Both The P and Cherry Grove prise the gay area of Fire Island, where the LGBT muny stays. They both are jt about 100% gay neighborhoods, not to mentn popular wh many gay celebri and fluential New Yorkers.

THE P BEACHFIRE ISLANDMENUHOTELSBARSDANCE CLUBSGAY BEACHTHE P BEACH

In my opn, first-time Fire Island gay travelers should stay here sce provis more of the typil experience. There is no ferr area of this gay wonrland.

Fire Island Gay Hotels.