2015 History Month Events
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October 4, 2015: The Project has several events planned to commemorate LGBT History Month - which was proudly founded in St. Louis through the leadership of local educator Rodney Wilson.
October 24 Walking Tour: The Queer History of St. Louis's Central West End, 10 am - 1 pm, Central West End.
To celebrate LGBT History Month, join the Project on a guided walking tour of St. Louis's Central West End neighborhood. For decades, the Central West End was a regionally important hub of queer community life and political activism.
Featured places include the boyhood homes of T.S. Eliot and Tennessee Williams; the sites of St. Louis's first gay community center, Herbies' disco, and the Masters and Johnson Institute; and one of the Forest Park "tearooms" studied by pioneering sociologist Laud Humphreys.
If you can commit to attending, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve a spot. Further information, including where we will meet at the start of the tour, will be provided by e-mail. The tour is free of charge, but cash or check donations to support the the work of the St. Louis LGBT History Project are appreciated.
This walking tour will last approximately two hours, so a bit of physical stamina is required. It will also take place outdoors, so comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended. Think of this as a sort of leisurely "urban hike." In case of inclement weather, the tour will be canceled and rescheduled.
October 26 Lecture: The History of LGBT History Month, 7 pm, Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium.
In October 1994, Rodney Wilson, a teacher at Mehlville High School, founded the now annual nationwide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History Month, choosing the month of October to coincide with National Coming Out Day and commemorate the first LGBT march on Washington in 1979. Join Wilson and Steven Brawley, founder of the St. Louis LGBT History Project, for this discussion that explores LGBT history in St. Louis and the story of LGBT History Month.
Additional Resources:
St. Louis LGBT History Project Uncovers Records of 1950s Raids on Downtown Gay Bars
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By Ian Darnell
September 10, 2015: In August, the St. Louis LGBT History Project obtained historical records that officially document police raids on local gay bars. More than sixty years old, these previously unstudied sources offer a fascinating glimpse of gay nightlife in the 1950s. The records also shed light on the changing relationship between queer people and St. Louis's police.
It's not news that in decades past the police sometimes raided St. Louis's lesbian and gay bars. Older members of the local LGBT community have long told stories about these incidents. Up until now, however, the Project had been unable to locate any written records of these raids. Uncovering these documents was the result of many hours of detective work in several local archival collections, culminating with a Sunshine Law request to the Records Division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
The records consist of three related police reports dated August 27, 1954. They detail a series of coordinated and apparently simultaneous raids conducted around midnight on three downtown bars. Two of these bars, the Entre Nous and Uncle John's, were located across the street from one another on the 600 block of Pine Street (parking garages now occupy the sites of both bars). The third bar, Al's, was located nearby at 115 North 9th Street (now on the site of AT&T Center skyscraper). We know that several other lesbian and gay bars were in operation in the St. Louis area at the time, but these do not seem to have been raided that night.
About one dozen law enforcement officials participated. The reports indicate that the police raided the bars because they "had received numerous complaints that homosexuals were frequenting [them]." It was against state liquor regulations for bar owners to allow "immoral persons to loiter on the premises" of their establishments. This provision effectively made it illegal to run a lesbian or gay bar. At the time, it was also illegal to have sex with a person of the same sex or to dress in the clothing of the opposite sex.
According to the reports, twenty-one people were arrested and taken to the district police station for questioning. These included the bartender at Al's and a man who played piano for customers at Uncle John's. In the reports, everyone who was arrested is listed as male. However, it is possible that some of the people arrested during the raids might not have been male, but instead were what we would think of today as trans women or genderqueers. We do know that some of the bars' customers wore makeup and had long, bleached-blond hair.
Read more: St. Louis LGBT History Project Uncovers Records of 1950s Raids on Downtown Gay Bars
July 2015 Donations
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July 8, 2015: The Project thanks Dan Byington and Allen Irby for some great donations. Dan, former owner of The Drake, donated a wonderful jacket promoting the Complex. Allen, past President of Metro East Pride, provided a collection of items commemorating recent Metro East Pride events. You have something in your closet to donate? Let us know. Always on the hunt for great T-shirts and other items.
2015 Pride Events
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June 9, 2015: The St. Louis LGBT History Project will present a new exhibit at this year's St. Louis PrideFest set for June 27-28 in downtown St. Louis. This year, the Project will highlight the historic contributions and achievements of St. Louis' lesbian community.
From activists to artists to business leaders, the display will feature some newly uncovered images and documents. Special thanks to Lilly's Music and Social House for providing volunteers to assist in staffing the exhibit.
The Project's tent will be located near SAGE - behind the "viewing stands" near the wine garden (N. 15th Street and Chestnut Street). The Project thanks Pride St. Louis, Inc., for its ongoing support of the Project's annual PrideFest exhibit.