Upstairs Lounge (Historic New Orleans Gay Bar/1970-1973) vintage horror shirt and a clash between mysticism

and a clash between mysticism and American law that felt more like fiction than fact

Before the Castro became the iconic neighborhood it is today

She owned the joke

the portrait endures as both mystery and monument: part author photo

Upstairs Lounge (Historic New Orleans Gay Bar/1970-1973) vintage horror shirt and a clash between mysticismUpstairs Lounge New Orleans, LA (1970 1973) In the early 1970s, Upstairs Lounge stood on the second floor of a French Quarter building at 604 Iberville Street as one of New Orleanss few openly queer bars a gathering place, refuge, and social hub for gay, lesbian, and queer people at a time when safe spaces were rare. It was more than a bar: it was community and sanctuary in an era of pervasive discrimination. On June 24, 1973, during a crowded Sunday