St. Louis, Mo.
William S. Burroughs home
4664 Pershing Avenue
Author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) was born on this quiet, tree-lined street, and the large, 3-story house belonging to his family is still standing. Burroughs’ family was wealthy: in 1885, Burroughs’ grandfather had invented the adding machine.
Young Burroughs began writing at age 8, and his first effort was [...]
Archive for May, 2009
Naked Burroughs
Posted in Missouri, gay and lesbian, novelists, writers on May 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“A lover of her own sex”
Posted in California, Pennsylvania, lawyers, suffragists on May 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Lodi, Calif.
De Force Avenue
This street is named for Laura de Force Gordon (1839-1907), a suffragist with a laudable string of accomplishments to her name, who owned a farmed just outside of Lodi. Originally from northwestern Pennsylvania, she was once married (hence the “Gordon” part of her name), but the union ended in divorce.
A Stockton newspaper [...]
“The Bachelors” of East 17th Street
Posted in New York, actors, agents, interior decorators on May 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
New York, N.Y.
Elsie de Wolfe / Elisabeth Marbury home
“Irving House”
122 East 17th Street
Elsie de Wolfe (1865-1950) had two careers, first as an actress and then as the first professional interior decorator. In 1892, she and her lover, Elisabeth (Bessie) Marbury, a theatrical agent and producer, made a home together at this address, a residence that [...]
“Strange Interlude” with Charles Demuth
Posted in New York, Pennsylvania, Provincetown, artists on May 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Lancaster, Pa.
The Demuth Museum
120 East King Street
Born at 109 North Lime Street in Lancaster, the artist Charles Demuth (1883-1935) moved at the age of 7 with his family to this location. Demuth’s family was wealthy, owning the oldest tobacco and snuff factory in the country; their tobacco shop was next door to their home.
Demuth suffered [...]
Gays Are People, Too
Posted in Illinois, activists on May 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Chicago, Ill.
Henry Gerber home
1710 North Crilly Court
In December 1924, at a cost of $10, the Society for Human Rights incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, listing its business offices in this rowhouse, the home of its leading force, Henry Gerber (1892-1972). With this move, the Society went into history as the first homosexual rights organization in [...]
“You’re just a bee charmer, Idgie Threadgoode”
Posted in Georgia, actors, lesbian and gay films on May 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Juliette, Ga.
Whistle Stop Café
443 Mccrackin Street
Ninety miles south of Atlanta, this site was used for the filming of Fried Green Tomatoes, the 1991 big-screen version of Fannie Flagg’s novel, starring Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson. Originally a general store, it was transformed for the movie into a 1920s café. After the movie was released, [...]
“In a Plain, Sealed Envelope”
Posted in California, activists, gay and lesbian on May 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
San Francisco, Calif.
Daughters of Bilitis / The Ladder
693 Mission Street
Started in 1955 as a social group providing an alternative to the bars, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first U.S. lesbian organization, expanded rapidly into a lesbian rights organization. The name “Bilitis” was taken from a poem by Pierre Louys about a lesbian of the [...]
A Landmark House
Posted in District of Columbia, activists, gay and lesbian, political figures on May 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Washington, D.C.
Frank Kameny house (private)
5020 Cathedral Avenue, N.W.
The house that gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny (b. 1925) has called home since 1962 won’t win any architectural prizes; it’s just a modest, two-story brick house built in 1955. But in February 2009, it was designated a Washington, D.C. historic landmark, in recognition of its significance, as [...]
Berenice with an Extra “E”
Posted in New York, gay and lesbian, photographers on May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
New York, N.Y.
Berenice Abbott studio
50 Commerce Street
Photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) is probably best known for her portraits of artists and writers in the 1920s expatriate community in Paris. Born in Ohio, she left the Midwest at age 22 to study in New York, Berlin, and Paris. While in Paris, she was assistant to the celebrated [...]
Rebel without a Cause
Posted in Indiana, actors, bisexuals on May 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Fairmount, Ind.
James Dean sites
Actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a native of Fairmount, growing up in a 13-room frame farmhouse that dates to 1904 and is still standing at 7184 South 150th Road East. He left Indiana for California and an acting career in 1949; over the next six years, although he made just three films, he [...]
