A new draft report tries to tell the story of the places that shaped Raleigh's LGBTQ community through the decades, but the people putting it together say they need help filling historical gaps.
The city鈥檚 Historic Preservation department began the survey in 2022, to get a better understanding of where queer people have gathered over the years. A phase two draft report, , begins in the 1870s and runs through present day.
The biggest obstacle to presenting a full picture of Raleigh鈥檚 LGBTQ history is the lack of documentation in the decades before the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, the starting point of the modern gay and trans rights movements.
鈥淚t's been extremely challenging, because when that history is not written down and kind of purposefully secretive, needing to be secretive at the time, it can be hard to find it when people aren't around to tell you about it,鈥� said Erin Morton Pugh, a senior preservation planner with the city.
Working with a consultant, searching through newspaper archives, and gathering oral histories, the Historic Preservation department was able to come up with a list of meaningful places, many of which no longer exist. These include the Kitty Hawk Tavern in the Sir Water Raleigh Hotel on Fayetteville Street, which was a popular gathering place for gay men in the 1940s and 1950s.
also includes details on early drag performances, including a 鈥渄rag ball held by the Black community,鈥� and organizations like the Triangle Gay Alliance, which was founded in 1971.
鈥淭here have been people in what we now call the LGBTQ community since there have been people, and these earlier sites in Raleigh are really good example of that,鈥� said preservation planner Tania Georgiou Tully.
Tully and Pugh are encouraging residents to read the report and give feedback before the Sunday deadline.
鈥淓very calendar day when the page turns, there's a new day of history that could potentially be documented,鈥� Pugh said. 鈥淪o, there's a ton to do, but I'm proud of this work, and hopefully it helps somebody get information that they're looking for.鈥�
