120 20 2502 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/4862f82c96195ea5df595c45d0188a44.pdf 885c94b7ed15f9560dc5902c1079e70b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Personal Narrative by Henry Kubicki Description An account of the resource Henry Kubicki, an early member of MCC New Orleans, has recorded his recollections and impressions of this affair, along with an account of the subsequent history of the MCC congregation. https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/d412319c54c9666a7d0ad711b1af7479.jpg 034590506867364b89822f7865f02689 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Book An external reference to a published book. URL <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2145976,00.html" target="_blank">http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2145976,00.html</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Horror Upstairs by Elizabeth Dias with Jim Downs Description An account of the resource TIME magazine published a major story on the 40th anniversary (July 1, 2013 issue). https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/d8c92138bba0452a42a409ff9266d203.jpg 68f99c7c082462f400c7e5da47ebb749 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Book An external reference to a published book. URL <a href="https://www.facebook.com/upstairsloungefire" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/upstairsloungefire</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire by Royd Anderson Description An account of the resource Filmmaker Royd Anderson produced a documentary film that examines the tragedy of the Upstairs Lounge Fire (2013). https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5910dcd8aa44723cae50faf1ae754128.jpg 31381fabf631c11c159d1f32df7c4b4c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Book An external reference to a published book. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <a href="http://upstairsmusical.com/" target="_blank">http://upstairsmusical.com/</a> URL <a href="http://upstairsmusical.com/" target="_blank">http://upstairsmusical.com</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Upstairs the Musical by Wayne Self Description An account of the resource Playwright/composer Wayne Self wrote and produced this original musical drama portraying events around the Upstairs Lounge Fire to mark its 40th anniversary. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Person An individual. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eddie Hosea Warren Description An account of the resource Eddie Hosea Warren, 24, of Pensacola, Florida, son of housekeeper Willie Inez Warren and brother of James Curtis Warren. All three died in the fire. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Person An individual. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James Curtis Warren Description An account of the resource James Curtis Warren, 26, from Pensacola, Florida, son of housekeeper Willie Inez Warren and brother of Eddie Hosea Warren. All three died in the fire. https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/a8eca5b3a9e5fd44d7be0e00d3033d6d.JPG 1d34ac961a8b015a20dcb5c1cf6cb39f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Person An individual. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louis Horace Broussard Description An account of the resource Louis Horace Broussard (on right), 29, partner of Duane George "Mitch" Mitchell (see below). Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Johnny Townsend collection Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Person An individual. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clarence Joseph McCloskey, Jr. Description An account of the resource Clarence Joseph McCloskey, Jr. , 48, store manager, partner of Joe William "Bill" Bailey (see above). McCloskey’s sisters and two nieces attended the memorial service. https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/eeb02475b03f9a763730bf3223a628a4.pdf dc666e7217530bfa1565170d05bb6de4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 1 At the corner of Chartres and Iberville Streets, in a city that burned to the ground twice, the Upstairs Lounge was both gay bar and church. An uneasy mingling for some, a holy blend of desire and hope for others. You had to ring a bell to be admitted: a friendly bartender, a white baby grand piano. After the Sunday afternoon beer special, when desire had run its course, the hope came round and church began once a few chairs were moved, new music found for the piano. They sang like they deserved to. They prayed like they meant it. 2 Someone poured lighter fluid onto the stairs that rose from the sidewalk to the bar, then anointed those slick stairs with a match, creating a Pentecost of fire and wind that ascended the stairs and flattened the door at the top, exploding into the room of worshippers, friends, lovers, two brothers, their mother. The holy spirit was silent. No one spoke a new language. 3 Some escaped. Many died with their hands covering their mouths. One man, George, blinded by smoke and sirens, his throat gagged with ash, got out and then went back for Louis, his partner. They were found, a spiral of bones holding each other under the white baby grand piano that could not save them. 4 Then came the jokes. A radio host asked: What will they bury the ashes of the queers in? Fruit jars, of course. One cab driver hoped the fire burned their dresses off. Some thought they heard laughter from a cathedral. 5 Thirty-one men died and one woman, Inez, the mother of Jimmy and Eddie. The three of them sat at a table, when this upper room exploded into flame and panic. Four others, though their bodies were identified by police, went unclaimed by their relatives. It is a shame those families didn’t know Inez and her sons. Now all their sons are orphans of smoke. 6 After the whipping flames and the choke-black smoke, after the screams were singed into silence, after the sirens, the hoses, the arcs of water strung from truck to roof, after the water dripped from charred beams, after one man’s burned body was pried from a window frame, and thirty-one others were gathered and lifted or swept into identifiable containers, no church would bury them, every house of God, a locked door, curtains drawn tight. Save one: a priest from St. George’s Episcopal Church, who received hate mail for opening his sanctuary to this congregation of ash, now transformed into clouds of incense, rising like praise into the air. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge, New Orleans, June 24, 1973 (poem) Description An account of the resource by Joseph Ross Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived © Joseph Ross from Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion & Spirituality; edited by Kevin Simmonds; published by Bryan Borland with Sibling Rivalry Press, 2011. Reprinted with permission. https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/363134aa2a6e87c69292c892adb8c47f.jpg 8f1034cde0d2d39467c44c441718f8b5 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/0878bcb67b4c6fb51a9dcda3ee495c90.jpg 92c54eb1d0a5bd79f8290362c3dc7deb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Pannell to Be New Pastor The Rev. Ronald T. Pannell will be installed as the new pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans, 19343 Burgundy St., in services Sunday at 11 a.m. The Rev. Mr. Pannell, 31, has been a member of the denomination, founded in October of 1968 by the Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry, for six years and comes to New Orleans from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, Calif. Serving as installing officer will be the Rev. Richard Vincent, former interim pastor of the local church with the Rev. Shawn Farrell, South-Central District coordinator, assisting. A luncheon will be served following the service. Metropolitan Community Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans will conduct a series of Spiritual Renewal worship services Wednesday through Jan. 22, according to the Rev. Ronald T. Pannell, Pastor. The worship services, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. daily, with the exception of Jan. 21, will be conducted by the National Evangelistic Team of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a non-denominational Christian body with a primary outreach to the “gay community.” Informative workshops will be held at noon Jan. 21 on “Homosexuality and the Bible,” “Stewardship,” “Outreach,” and “Church Structure and Goals.” The special ministry team consists of the Rev. Ronald Anderson, an ordained evangelist formerly of another religious body, along with A.A. Allen, Leroy Jenkins, Ms. Annette Beall, and Ms. Jeanne Leggett. Additional information may be obtained by calling the church at 945-5476. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New MCC Pastor Brings New Era Description An account of the resource A new permanent pastor at MCC, Ron Pannell, arrives two years after the fire to bring renewed energy to the community. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, September 18, 1976 & January 14, 1978 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/055a7bdd1d130d0e0391ca456b5ebdf9.jpg bf4d9a060d48f977c1a11775e7a64aa0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Memorial Rites Honor Lounge Blaze Victims by Valerie M. Haynes “For as many years as gay people in the country or any part of the world remain the captives and victims of hate filled societies—let the last Sunday of each Gay Pride Week each year, hold an hour or day of commemoration for the thousands who, in the missing pages of our history, died alone in fire…” Mary Morris, a lay evangelist for the Metropolitan Community Church, dressed in a clerical collar and pants, read from the official eulogy for the 32 victims who died in the Upstairs Lounge Fire two years ago Tuesday. The small Metropolitan Community Church was filled to capacity Sunday afternoon for the annual memorial service for the fire victims. The church is a Christian Church for everyone, with an open outreach to the gay community the church program stated. Most of the service was dedicated to the late Rev. Bill Larson, once the pastor of the church, who perished along with other church members. An altar and plaque were dedicated to the late minister as a permanent memorial, along with a plaque for the other victims of the fire. Funds for the memorial were raised by the National New Orleans Memorial Fund which was organized in 1973 to aid the survivors, to bury the deceased, and to erect a permanent memorial for the victims, according to the Rev. Joel Kauhl, pastor of the church. The fund membership is comprised of the Rev. Troy Perry, moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches; Morris Knight of the Los Angeles Gay Community Services Center; Marty Manford, of the Gay Activists Alliance in New York City; the Rev. John Gill, pastor of MCC in Atlanta, Ga.; and the Rev. Paul Breton, pastor of MCC, Phoenix, Ariz. “I believe firmly that one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is sex” if it is used for love, said the Rev. William Richardson, a visiting pastor to the church. Jesus never mentioned anything in the Bible about homosexuality. He said we are to love everyone, the minister said. A picture of Christ and a tapestry of The Last Supper hung on the walls of the small church. Two candles burned at the altar. The occasion was a solemn one—one to remember friends, relative and fellow church members who died in the fire. The Rev. Kauhl called it a living memorial of love. There were seven fires in 1973 in the United States in places frequented by members of the gay community, according to Rev. Kauhl, the last being the Upstairs fire. The tragedy, though, he pointed out, united the whole gay community all over the country. One could easily pass up the church at 3123 Magazine St. Only a name sign sits in the window. Other places in the area are mostly businesses. References to homosexuality were made openly in the service. “I’m Not Afraid Anymore” will become the church’s fellowship song, the Rev. Kauhl said. The eulogy read by Mary Morris was adopted by the Trustees of the National New Orleans Memorial Fund as their official proclamation in connection with the fire. It was written by Jeanne Cordova. The words of the liturgy spoke of the hardships suffered by gay men and women throughout history. It also, however, gives them courage. “Let this Sunday and one Sunday each year commemorate these deaths and remind us, Remind us in anger, remind us in strength, and remind us in love That we have years to go before we sleep…in Freedom. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Memorial on Second Anniversary of Fire Description An account of the resource A memorial service, held on the second anniversary of the Upstairs Lounge fire, calls for permanent memorials for the 32 victims of the tragedy. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, June 23, 1975 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e652b9cef65f1067ab40b0e191ebd4ed.jpg 1a93e34b64d6c4966cbc02ec98a284d4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Two BR Women Exchange Vows in ‘Gay Wedding’ by Bill Bankston Two Baton Rouge women, Gloria Villani, 49, and Earline Robin Hulsey, 34, exchanged marriage vows in a Sunday ceremony at the Metropolitan Community Church mission in New Orleans. The two women said that this week they seek to obtain a civil marriage license at the clerk of court’s office in Baton Rouge. They said they expect to be denied the license and that they will then launch a court fight to obtain legal recognition for marriages of their type. The ceremony, which included communion and exchange of rings, was performed by the Rev. Ron Anderson from the Metropolitan Community Church in Ft. Worth, Tex. A spokesman for the church said it was founded in 1968 in Los Angeles and that there are now about 60 congregations in North America and Europe. The Sunday ceremony was the 10th such service performed at the church in New Orleans, members said. Both women have lived in Baton Rouge since 1969. Miss Hulsey is a native of Oklahoma and Miss Vallani is a native of Louisiana. They met about a year ago, they said. Miss Hulsey said she was once married to a man but that marriage was annulled. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lesbian Wedding at MCC New Orleans Description An account of the resource Two women are married at MCC New Orleans and, as an early precursor to today’s social developments, announce plans to apply for a marriage license. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The State-Times, February 25, 1975 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/3611c794a3a42d19ca6166b299aa4c88.jpg 3299f60193a473963f1365a0cef675ca Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Church Strives Following Fire New Phase of Growth, Renewal—Pastor The Metropolitan Community Church in New Orleans, which reportedly lost one-third of its total membership in the tragic Upstairs Lounge fire last year, has entered a new phase of growth and spiritual renewal, according to the new interim pastor, the Rev. Elder Richard C. Vincent, of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. The Rev. Mr. Vincent has taken a leave of absence from his position as pastor of the Dallas, Tex. MCC and will remain here until the New Orleans church, still in a mission category, has been chartered and a permanent pastor is secured. The MCC mission here has been without a pastor since the Rev. William Larson was killed, along with 31 other persons in the June 24, 1973 fire. Because of the loss of members and other hardships, the congregation is now in a fund-raising campaign. The University Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches was begun in 1968. It strives, through lectureship and other educational programs, to promote a greater understanding and acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle as a valid way of life, according to the Rev. Mr. Vincent. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource MCC Perseveres in Wake of Tragedy Description An account of the resource MCC New Orleans strives to communicate that it is continuing and growing following the tragic loss of members at the Upstairs Lounge. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, February 16, 1974 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/760e76bd0afd68a1a98dbc38b0a14557.jpg 9d6867a035de7d3abf735f10f1328901 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document A Subculture Surfaces ‘50s ‘Climate of Hostility’ to Gays Gone—Now What? ‘Queer Capital’ War? Or ‘Getting Along Fine’? by Joan Treadway (Last of a Series) Civic groups working in and through City Hall launched a drive 15 years ago to reduce the local homosexual population. They recommended that a “frigid climate of hostility” be cultivated. But the campaign started then obviously had no long-term results. Some homosexuals marched outside City Hall a few years ago, demanding “liberation” and an end to alleged police harassment. This year, others walked inside. Attorney Jacob Morrison, who headed a citizens’ committee which was an offshoot of the drive, said “The same person is here today that wanted to stop the influx of homosexuals then—what’s happened to him?” Answering himself, he said, “Some people feel ‘What’s the use?’ The public authorities just wink at it. One reason the city lets them get by with it (homosexuality) is that people won’t do anything about it.” He added, “Homosexual activity is tolerated now. There’s not a frigid atmosphere at all. So many people accept homosexuality without being horrified that the homosexuals have lost all restraint.” Morrison said he and others “think the influx of these persons is making New Orleans the queer capital of the U.S.—they flock to their own kind here. If I was mayor and they came to me, I’d have a heck of a time to keep from throwing them out bodily.” One of the prime backers of the drive 15 years ago was the Vieux Carre Property Owners and Associates Inc. The group is still receiving complaints about homosexuals “who congregate on the streets screaming and hollering,” said its current president John Dedt. However, it receives equal numbers of complaints about “hippies, Jesus freaks, beggars and the Bourbon Street barkers,” he said. “There are probably enormous amounts of homosexuals who are decent, law-abiding people in the Quarter and throughout the city.” Dedt says he believe homosexuals in the city are more overt now than in past years, but that their numbers haven’t increased. Many people with long hair simply look homosexual to some people, he said. He said the Vieux Carre “is the playground for New Orleans and all of Louisiana, and most everyone gets along fine, if people don’t make themselves conspicuous, especially by being noisy.” Opinions on homosexuality held by civic groups and the persons in them range from Morrison’s negative feeling through Dedt’s laissez-faire attitude to Harry J. Blumenthal Jr.’s views. Blumenthal, a member of New Orleans Human Rights Committee made a recently-passed motion that the group investigate the problems of local homosexuals. This action had been requested by members of the Gay People’s Coalition. “If they’re being discriminated against, it deserves to be looked into—that’s what the Human Relations Committee is for,” Blumenthal said. The Coalition asked for study into discrimination in the law, social services and employment. Blumenthal said he personally feels “whether you take the attitude that homosexuality is an alternative life-style or that it is some aberration, there’s no call for discrimination such as not allowing homosexuals in bars or not selling them houses.” Part of his motion was that a subcommittee of HRC look into the situation and report back to the whole HRC. The subcommittee reported back Monday night and the HRC adopted its three recommendations. The recommendations were: 1) that the subcommittee continue in existence and meet with the Coalition at least once a month to discuss the problems of local gay people and possible solutions. 2) That the HRC’s Answer Desk at City Hall coordinate its referral services with services provided by the Gay People’s Coalition, meaning that Answer Desk volunteers will routinely be provided with information on the Coalition. 3) That when and if there is a staff person available at the HRC, this person would prepare an exhaustive report on the problems of local homosexuals. Bill Stewart, HRC deputy director, said, “We don’t have the staff for this now.” Gay activists are working on other fronts in New Orleans and one of these is set up at Tulane University. There, the Gay Students Union is fighting for official recognition against administration opposition and even threatening court action. Wherever the gay liberation movement springs up here, it is apparent that some New Orleanians no longer feel that the homosexual subculture is hidden and is itself a community problem, but that it is surfacing and that is has its own problems. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Changing Attitudes on Homosexuality Description An account of the resource The last of the newspaper series relates the dramatic change in policies and attitudes toward homosexual persons in New Orleans over the previous 15 years. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, September 16, 1973 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/34462f83aa997ffc71f0904381b26682.jpg 56989094d7f20d5ebc4886685223a751 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document No Mardi Gras Magic Gay Community Surfaces in Tragedy of N.O. Fire National Leaders Help City’s Awareness by Joan Treadway (First of a Series) There is a submerged subculture in New Orleans which the city for some time has tried to suppress, then ignored and now is being forced to acknowledge as its own—for better or for worse—largely as a result of one tragedy. That tragedy was a fire in a French Quarter bar two and one half months ago which claimed 32 lives and altered an unknown number of other lives. The bar was publicly identified as a homosexual hangout also frequented by heterosexuals. From this point on, people across the country and New Orleanians themselves were confronted with the fact that the city has an active homosexual community which does not magically appear on Mardi Gras, but which exists year-round. The community itself gained a greater degree of self-awareness and began to surface amidst the general population. Acting as catalysts in this process were nationally-known gay liberation leaders who arrived in the city soon after the fire. Morty Manford, a prime mover in the Gay Activists Alliance in New York, commented here, “One person said to me ‘Have you heard all the thuds this week? All the closet doors are falling (referring to the “coming out” of hidden homosexuals).’” Many homosexuals who have stopped hiding are members of the New Orleans Gay People’s Coalition which was formed after the fire. One such person is Chris Gamble, 27, who has been in this city for over two years. “I think there was a pretty dramatic change after the fire,” he said. “Before, everyone was in a little world of complacency. The attitude was ‘They don’t hassle us too much.’ I don’t feel this is enough.” Homosexuals across the country are having problems existing from day to day, Gamble said. Their problems include lack of job security, the threat of blackmail and of physical violence simply because they are gay, he said. These problems exist in New Orleans, he said, “but they are not as bad as other cities. The general French Quarter life lends itself to a more live-and-let-live attitude that is found in other cities of comparable size.” The Quarter is the local center for homosexuals, though a lot of gay couples buy subdivision homes, said another Coalition leader, Lucien Baril, also the newly appointed worship coordinator for the Metropolitan Community Church. Baril took over the church June 25, one day after the fire in which the last minister died. The Coalition was begun, he said, because shortly after the fire the basic need for solidarity and unity in the gay community became evident. The “powers that be,” he said, seemed to ignore the tragedy, even though so many lives were lost. The attitude which came across to the homosexual community , he said, was that those who died were “just a bunch of faggots.” The Coalition was started as a “consciousness-raising group to help people get over the depression of feeling ‘Well, I’m gay; I’m not worth anything,’ and to help realize themselves as human beings,” he said. The organization is also in the process of setting up to what amounts to separate social services for local homosexuals, he said. The Coalition’s health committee has already opened a homosexual venereal disease clinic at 1150 N. Rampart St. Manford observed, “Gay people get venereal disease as much as non-gays, and often, they feel intimidated going in a public clinic. They don’t know the doctor’s attitude or if their records will get back to their families or employers.” Baril said another Coalition committee is in the process of training Coalition volunteers to provide counseling services to any homosexuals who want to talk out their problems. This project will include establishment of a switchboard. The aim of the counseling won’t be to “convert” people from homosexuality to heterosexuality, Baril stressed. “Conversion from basic homosexuality is conceivable, but it’s not likely to happen, and so we will help people adjust,” he said. A third subdivision of the Coalition, its media committee, is providing yet another means of communication between homosexuals here—the printed word—in the form of a newspaper called the New Orleans Causeway. “Hopefully, job placement and housing services will also eventually be provided by the Coalition,” Baril said. He judged these problems “serious” in this city. “I know of persons who’ve lost or haven’t gotten jobs because they’re gay,” he said. Also, he added, “It’s quite difficult for a gay couple to get housing here.” Such problems were recently presented to the city’s Human Relations Committee by the Coalition. The Committee responded by setting up a task force to investigate. A Coalition spokesman urged the HRC to “get people to see that homosexuals are not just freaks they see on the street but people they work with and respect.” If adopted, this policy would be a far cry from city policy of 15 years ago. In 1958, councilmen, civic leaders and police officers conferred at City Hall on the best method of reducing homosexuals in the French Quarter. Participants expressed a need for “a drive against the deviates.” Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fire Tragedy Spawns Activism Description An account of the resource The first in a series of newspaper stories notes the emergence of the Gay People’s Coalition and heightened visibility and activism in the New Orleans gay community following the fire. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, September 11, 1973 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/4962231b80b9df42b67737de9339ab5c.jpg 944ffb12a5c944affbb77b9cbf343868 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document HRC to Attack Gay Problems Committee Acts after Meet with Coalition The New Orleans Human Rights Committee (HRC) appointed a sub-committee Monday night to plan an attack on the problems reportedly confronting homosexuals in New Orleans. After meeting with a delegation from the Gay Peoples’ Coalition (GPC) for over an hour Monday the HRC passed a resolution by Metropolitan Area Committee representative Harry Blumenthal committing the HRC to six months of studying homosexual problems. He termed these problems, “a clear and present matter of concern.” The HRC sub-committee and the Coalition will present to the community a detailed strategy at next month’s meeting. According to a coalition spokesman, this strategy will entail “getting as many gay people as possible to declare that they are gay.” “This will cause either a great deal of embarrassment or cause them to be accepted,” she said. “The idea is to get people to see that homosexuals are not just freaks they see on the street, but people they work with and respect,” she added. The coalition has worked with HRC staff since the Up Stairs fire on how city government can best respond to the problems confronting homosexuals. Speakers for the GPC at the committee meeting included Celeste Newbrough, director of research for Total Community Action, Inc., the Rev. Lucien Baril, religious coordinator for the Metropolitan Community Church; and Bill Rushton, managing editor of the Vieux Carre Courier. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gay People’s Coalition Organizing Description An account of the resource The Gay People’s Coalition forms in the aftermath of the fire and works with the Human Rights Committee to make New Orleans a safer and more open place for LGBT persons. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, August 4, 1973 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/2a7a4558d6348dcd1f227837cd5a5e8e.jpg 9fee3e55f3584babbb7fbc475ede7da4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Hurt by Label Editor, The Times-Picayune I want to make a few comments about the fire at the Upstairs Bar, and the saddest part of all is that I must ask you to withhold my name because of a fear of losing my job. The people of New Orleans have no idea of the pain and suffering gays are now going through. Many lost dear and close friends in that horrible fire. These gay people are now all asking the same questions. Why are gay lives looked on so cheaply? Where are all the expressions of sorrow for the victims and their families from our public officials and religious leaders? Why did church after church turn down request from the gay community to hold memorial services? Why do police refer to patrons of the bar as “queers and thieves”? And most important of all, why did the news media find it necessary to refer to the bar time and time again as a homosexual bar? I am sure that not all of the people who were killed were gay, but even if they were it is grossly unfair to put labels on them. The relatives of those who died must live with this the rest of their lives and those who were injured are labeled for life which means possible loss of employment, etc…. I have heard of only one group in the straight community that publicly offered sympathy to the victims and gave public support to the national day of mourning, this group being the LSUNO Young Democrats. It must have taken a lot of courage for this group to make a public stand such as it did. Thank God for our young people, they might be this city’s last hope. M.F. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anonymous Letter Decries Treatment of Gays Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor by a closeted gay person raises questions about the discounting of gay people in the aftermath of the fire. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, July 4, 1973 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/f08f1ed8fda0d648085ca071bf173a5e.jpg c7274ec3aad307e11ccee3f04e959455 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Appeals Court Rules City Not Liable in Lounge Fire The City of New Orleans, though it sets building and safety standards and makes inspections, is not liable to families of victims of the June 1973 Upstairs Lounge fire, according to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. This court in ruling on 14 cases in which about $20 million was claimed, thus upheld a December 1975 ruling from Civil District Court Judge Gerald Fedoroff. Thirty-two lives were lost in the blaze at 604 Iberville. The plaintiffs claimed the city was guilty of “affirmative neglect,” in that it knew of flammable materials, metal bars over windows, a false ceiling and raised stage. But the city said it could not be “a guarantor of the safety of each person who uses a building constructed under the city ordinances.” Judge John Boutall agreed with Judge Stoulig, but Judge Ernest Morial dissented. Judge Soulig said “the plaintiff is incorrect in assuming either failure to inspect or negligent inspection created a cause of action against the city to every patron injured in a fire in the premises. “Plaintiff’s position in this case is actually a reverse application of governmental immunity. “The abolition of governmental immunity requires that states and municipalities be treated the same as an individual citizen. The city owed him no individual duty.” City Atty. Philip Brooks noted it is unreasonable to hold the city responsible for each inspection. He said it is impossible, for example, for the city to stop someone from sealing up a doorway immediately after a fire inspection and prior to the next inspection. “The duty to inspect the Upstairs Lounge by any of the agencies joined as defendants is imposed to protect the public generally against potential hazards. There was no duty owed individually to all future patrons of this bar,” stated Judge Soulig. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource City Not Liable in Lawsuits Description An account of the resource The Appeals Court upholds the ruling by a District Court judge that the city and its agencies are not liable to families of victims of the fire. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, January 13, 1977. https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/2e45389841f080e164cafbcfbcd951c6.jpg 78a64639d322c0fdad2fe6a75a326d97 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document New Orleans Faces Large Damage Suits The City Council reportedly has been warned by city officials that lawsuits growing out of four major tragedies could cost New Orleans hundreds of thousands of dollars. The city faces lawsuits from the Bourbon Street Mall disaster, the Rault Center fire, the Downtown Howard Johnson’s sniper incident and the Upstairs Lounge fire. Mayor Moon Landrieu, Chief Administrative Officer Richard Kernion and city attorneys met in secret session with councilmen Dec. 23 to alert them to the situation, the Times-Picayune reported Saturday. Altogether, New Orleans is named as a defendant in about 50 individual suits and could be liable for all or part of $73.4 million, the report said. City officials were unavailable for comment. The newspaper said city officials are most concerned about the Bourdon Street incident of April 1972, in which a car fleeing from police roared down a pedestrian mall, killing one person and injuring 18. The city is the key defendant in five suits totaling $3.85 million. A March 10 trial date is set to determine whether the city is liable for damages. If so, the amount of liability would be determined in a later trial. The newspaper quoted sources in the city attorney’s office as saying the police car involved in the incident was insured for only $75,000. There are 12 federal and state suits totaling $30.7 million related to the city’s action in the Rault Center fire on Nov. 29, 1972, in which six persons died. Three suits have been filed against the city in the Jan, 7, 1973 Howard Johnson’s sniper attack. They total about $2 million. The shooting spree between police and a gunman atop the hotel left seven persons dead and 17 injured. Plaintiffs are seeking $36.8 million in 28 federal and state suits filed against the city after 32 persons were killed in a fire at the Upstairs Lounge on June 24, 1973. Only the Bourbon Street suit has been set for trial, but sources in the city attorneys office were quoted as saying that the Rault Center fire suits may reach trial before the end of 1975. If the city decides to make out-of-court settlements in the cases, the council must find the funds. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource City Faces Several Lawsuits Description An account of the resource New Orleans officials reportedly are looking at options to deal with a number of lawsuits that have arisen from the Upstairs Lounge fire and three other catastrophes over the span of about a year. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sunday Advocate, January 5, 1975 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/7b19304ded149e8d7d6801419ee3c3d4.jpg 467fcc853a719826bf8beca167cf820c https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e285f7d15596db02c0312b7007a29edf.jpg e73e8aa9e2316724de91e3d19732a560 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/14a31beb00aae4074e55010b3bdb392b.jpg 972345f5df2527acbc83f5ff8084592d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Upstairs Is Hit By Biggest Suit $13.9 Million Sought for Deaths by Fire The latest and largest suit resulting from the Up Stairs Lounge fire was filed in Civil District Court Wednesday. The suit, instituted by relatives of a mother and her two sons who died June 24, 1973, in the bar at 604 Iberville, seeks a total of $13.9 million. The suit alleges the city “failed to inspect this bar for a period of in excess of two years, or even make token inspections. “Further, the City of New Orleans has instructed the Fire Department to refuse to release any information in the matter, and has referred everything to the city attorney. Plaintiffs and amounts sought are: Robbert Warren, $6,350,000, for the death of this mother Willie Inez Warren, and his brothers, Eddie Hose Warren and James Curtis Warren plus $2,450,000 for surviving brothers and sisters; Fay Warren, $3 million, for the loss of her husband, James Curtis Warren; and Michael C. Warren, $2.1 million, for the loss of his father, James Curtis Warren. Named as defendants were Anthony and Florence Guarino of 4605 Elysian Fields, said to be owners of the building at the time of the fire; lounge operation Phillip J. Esteve, of 1424 Thalia; State Fire Marshal Raymond B. Oliver; New Orleans Fire Supt. William J. McCrossen; City Director of Fire Prevention David Fontaine, Jr.; Louisiana Rating and Fire Prevention Bureau, Vieux Carre Commission, the city and state and three insurance companies. The suit charges defendants were negligent in failing to maintain a safe building “in spite of actual knowledge the building was a fire trap, with steel bars on windows, and they to provide a reasonable escape route...” It claims the building and business were operated in “gross disregard of safety standards and regulations, by failing to provide adequate means of emergency exits, and in furnishing the premises with highly flammable materials, and failure to provide adequate means of ingress and egress.” The suit alleges the governmental agencies and employees were negligent by failing to make timely inspections and Bar Fire Suit Is Charging 11 Out-of-State Group Asks for $2.6 Million Asking $2.6 million in damages, a group of out-of-state residents whose relatives were burned or died in the June 24, 1973 fire in the Upstairs Lounge in the French Quarter filed suit in Civil District Court against 11 defendants. The suit is based upon several personal injuries to Edward B. Gillis and fatal injuries Joseph H. Adams, Jr., George Steven Matyi, and David Gary, patrons of the bar at 604 Iberville, it said. Damages sought are $100,000 for Mrs. Jean Adams Jordon; $100,000 for Marilyn Adams West and $100,000 for Miss Nancy Ann Adams, sisters of Joseph H. Adams; $500,000 for Tina Matyi and $500,000 for Todd Matyi, youngsters of George Matyi; $1 million for Edward B. Gillis; $150,000 for Becky Gary and $150,000 for Elwyn R. Gary, Jr., parents of David S. Gary. Defendants includes Anthony and Florence Guarino, owners of the building; lounge operator Phillip J. Esteve; State Fire Marshal Raymond B. Oliver; Louisiana Rating and Fire Prevention Bureau; the Vieux Carre Commisison; three insurance companies; and the city and state. The suit alleges the owners were negligent in failing to properly maintain the building and failure to provide adequate emergency exits. The petitions charge the city and state agencies were negligent in failing to discover and correct recognized fire hazards as well as failing to make proper inspections of the building. The suit said Edward Gillis was permanently disabled. Upstairs Suit at $1.1 Million The family of Gerald Gordon, a victim of the 1973 Upstairs Lounge Fire, filed suit in Civil District Court for $1,103,000. Defendants are lounge owner Phillip J. Esteve, building owners Florence and Anthony Guarino and a number of city and state officials and insurance companies. The suit charges the fire at 604 Iberville was a result of negligence in defendants’ failure to maintain the building, provide adequate and safe emergency exits and comply with fire and safety codes. The fire occurred on June 24, 1973, and ordinarily there is a deadline of one year to file suit in such a case, but the petition said a resolution of the Legislature authorizes institution of suit before the end of 1974. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lawsuits Filed Against City and Bar Owner Description An account of the resource A number of lawsuits to recover damages are filed by families of the deceased as well as survivors of the fire. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Times-Picayune, June 20, 1974; July 11, 1974; and December 25, 1974.