I was able to break away from the AANP Conference to visit a very historical site of the GLBT civil rights movement in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. On June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to a packed gay bar known as the Upstairs Lounge, which at the time was one of New Orleans’ only social outlets for its GLBT residents. 31 men and 1 woman (who was at the bar with her two gay sons, who also lost their lives) horrifically burned to their deaths trying to escape from the bar, which had an endless number of draperies, wooden furniture, and other materials that served as accelerants which made that attempt nearly impossible.
The photos are from the site today, which has remained essentially unused since the tragedy. Scars from the fire remain visible under the building’s paint. The horrendous photo of the aftermath serves only for comparison. One victim, Reverend Bill Larson of the New Orleans parish of the Metropolitan Community Church, can be seen clinging to the window in his failed attempt to flee. Larson had just performed a service for the bar’s patrons a few hours before the fire (being gay, the men were otherwise shunned from any of New Orleans’ churches and had to hold their worship services at the Upstairs Lounge).
The perpetrator was never brought to justice. And the event was underreported and even mocked by the media because of the victims’ sexual orientations. Consequently, it served as a catalyst in awakening New Orleans’ gay citizens, who had reached their pinnacle of tolerance of the hatred and discrimination being shown against them. A great book about the tragedy is Let The Faggots Burn (2011) by Johnny Townsend. The title comes from a fireman who made that shocking quote when a horrified onlooker realized their ladders weren’t long enough to reach the bars’ windows and that they weren’t going to be able bring any of the victims to safety. Below are photos from the site, taken by myself today:
The side exterior of the site of the Upstairs Lounge today. Scars from the fire remain visible under the building’s painted surface.
Compare the first photo to this horrendous photo of the aftermath, which serves only for comparison. One victim, Reverend Bill Larson of the New Orleans parish of the Metropolitan Community Church, can be seen clinging to the middle of the second window in his failed attempt to flee. Larson had just performed a service for the bar’s patrons a few hours before the fire (being gay, the men were otherwise shunned from any of New Orleans’ churches and had to hold their worship services at the Upstairs Lounge).
A shot of the front exterior of the site of the Upstairs Lounge today. Scars from the fire remain visible under the building’s painted surface
The entrance door to the Upstairs Lounge today. Patrons would ring a doorbell for access, which would be granted by the bartender upstairs. On the night of the fire, the arsonist lit the wooden stairs of the stairwell on fire with an accelerant and rang the doorbell incessantly. Thinking it was a taxi driver picking up a patron, the door was opened. The resulting oxygen drift that entered the bar caused an explosion which quickly engulfed the entire bar.
The Upstairs Lounge memorial plaque, which is set in the sidewalk directly in-front of the entrance to what once was the Upstairs Lounge. The names of the victims along with three unidentified males are etched into the plaque.