Pave Paradise...

Sunday began my first exploration of New York's LGBTQ history with the assistance of the previously mentioned Stepping Out. I have to say I really enjoyed the journey, and learned so much.  History, is in it's best sense collection of true stories, things of import that affected our present times, often in ways we couldn't have conceived of at the time. Sunday I walked a good portion of the East Village and earned about Emma Goldman, Frank O'Hara, and about Andy Warhol.  I visited the former location of the Lafayette Bathhouse, which operated in the early 1900's through the thirties, and which was at one point owned y the Gershwin family (mother and father to George and Ira).  I also stopped at Webster Hall, which ad been home to some lush and rather infamous drag balls back during the Roaring Twenties, and I learned about one of the most notorious gay brothels back in the 1890s, Columbus Hall. I wish I had masses of pictures to share, but, with as changing as the city is, most of these locations are paved over, were demolished and built anew, or are skeletons of their former glory (Webster Hall just recently was sold, and on August 5th ceased to be a night club in order to prepare for "demo, reno and transition to corporate ownership under Barclays/AEG/Bowery Presents", and while I thought it was protect, as an historical city landmark, that appears not to be the case).

Yes. I understand. New York is a beast.  Constantly changing, growing, transforming. I appreciate that. I also appreciate the importance of knowing and celebrating our story, the both story of the city and of our peoples, both straight and gay, in-between and beyond. Knowing these things happened, and imagining how things might have been, gave me some appreciation for how they might be right now, for the history that is being created as we speak.  Because, even though we may think the resent to be relatively stagnant, or that oppression keeps us fro changing and growing, we now because of history, that this is not so.  One need only to look to "prohibition" and remember how much drinking took place at a time when alcohol was illegal.

And even though most of the time on Sunday it felt like I was moving from geographical point to geographical point with very little to mark the pas that made the location famous, it did feel good to stand where those things happened, and to move from space to space, and realize how much life and how many dreams and hopes were packed into every block.