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But even as the '70s in New York were a relatively open, exciting time to be a gay man in New York - pride parades, gay bars and clubs proliferating, a mainstream weekly gay newspaper, a gay rights protest at the 1976 Democratic National Convention in New York - being openly gay, whether on the street or in the workplace, still came with dangers.
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But by the time the fire engines came wailing down 28th Street around 7 a.m., nine men - trapped inside a building with blocked-up windows and no fire escapes - would not make it out alive.Įight years after Stonewall, the tragedy at the Everard Baths - never investigated as anything but an accidental mattress fire - marked the beginning of the end of a brief, exuberant heyday of New York City gay life that was able to thrive in part because of cheap real estate and a city government that was willing to look the other way when it came to, say, S&M clubs like the Mineshaft in the Meatpacking District (dress code included no cologne). They would have been hanging out in the steam room or the sauna, grabbing something to eat from the snack shop in the lobby, swimming laps in the heavily chlorinated pool in the basement, getting a massage, smoking a joint, buying drugs from the attendant on the third floor, or having sex on a bed in one of the private cubicles or the big, communal L-shaped dormitory, also known as the orgy room. Tuesday night was a big night at the baths, and many of the men would have rented one of the 135 tiny cubicles for $7 for 12 hours, or just a locker for $5. Maybe there were 80 to 100, as the building owner estimated later. Mass shooting at Orlando nightclub 49 photosĬano was visiting from Florida, and said the Pulse nightclub is one of the known spots amongst her friends.No one knows exactly how many men were inside the Everard Baths in the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 25, 1977. "This is where the LGBT rights movement started, and I think the Stonewall represents hope," Cano told CBS New York. In front of the red brick façade, Cameron Cano stood proudly with a rainbow flag draped over her shoulders. The Manhattan bar became a national symbol of gay rights after a 1969 police raid led to violent street riots. In New York City, LGBT people and their allies converged on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in spontaneous reaction to the shooting. In many cities, vigils were planned at LGBT community centers and other gathering spots to commemorate the victims in Orlando. "Nightclubs have always been sacred spaces for queer people, places to gather and glitter away from the judging glares of society, where we could love and be loved for who we are and how we want to be," wrote Paul Raushenbush, a clergyman and popular gay writer, expressing his heartbreak in a lengthy, emotional post on Facebook in which he recalled going out dancing while at seminary in New York. Orlando nightclub mass shooting victims 49 photos Sunday's attack struck a place that has long been thought of as a safe haven for the community - the gay nightclub. Robert Matencio, who works as a host at Neighbours, said the club responded to the arson attack by adding extra security guards during large special events, and training employees in crowd control.