In 1958, a St. Louis resident who identified himself as “Mr. H” wrote to the editors of ONE, the first LGBTQ magazine ever published in the United States. Below is the text of his letter: Dear Don Slater: I am writing you to tell of the good that I am getting out of ONE. I […]
A key challenge as we researched Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis was locating street addresses. Since many bars and restaurants were well known to locals, our researchers often found only vague references to places, such as “PK’s across the river” or “Betty’s on the south side.” Few people now, let alo...
by Wendy Lu (WU Class 2018) As a research assistant on the Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis Project, I have been conducting archival research in the Special Collections Department here on Washington University’s campus. I’ve been going through several boxes from the ACLU of Eastern Missouri and researchin...
by Kristi Hagen (WU Class of 2018) I joined the Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis Project in the fall of 2016, kicking off my work with a tour of the Central West End with Ian Darnell. I’m currently a junior majoring in anthropology, and minoring in history. I had taken Queer Histories with Professor Fried...
A reflection by Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis research assistant, Karisa Tavassoli (WU Class of 2016): While researching this summer at the Belleville Illinois Public Library I came across an assortment of newspaper clippings filed under the heading “Bellev. AIDS Home Hospice,” which offers...
Recently the national podcast Criminal visited the WU library. This audio documentary program was researching The Evening Whirl — one of the archival sources being consulted in Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis. The Evening Whirl is an unique St. Louis newspaper (still in publication) publishing...
A Snapshot of St. Louis in the Era of Gay Lib: Ciao! Magazine Profiles the Gateway City In June 1974, Ciao!, a pioneering gay travel magazine, published an article on St. Louis. The piece and accompanying photographs offer a fascinating snapshot of the Gateway City in the era of gay liberation. &...
The Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis Project is happy to welcome three new undergraduate researchers to our team – Kristi Hagen, Molly Brodsky, and Jennifer Chen. Our semester’s work began September 23 with an orientation session at Olin Library. Ian Darnell presented on the overall story of...
Join us for a free screening presented by the Washington University Libraries, Cinema St. Louis, the Missouri History Museum, and the St. Louis LGBT History Project as part of the Henry Hampton Film Series. The screening will be followed by a discussion featuring Steve Brawley of the St. Louis LG...
Reflections of a summer research assistant I started working on Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis in a post-graduate flurry of emotions and tasks, excited to be done with undergrad but nervous as to how I would manage the world of ‘non-studenthood’ into which I was thrust. I knew little about G...
