LGBTQ culture in Philadelphia
[1] In tandem with the substantial post-WWII expansion of American suburbia, which resulted in white-collar families relocating to the suburbs in significant numbers, Center City had plentiful affordable housing and urban anonymity that allowed the LGBT culture to meet hidden from public view.
[2] By the 1950s, a jazz, espresso, and beatnik culture was developing around Rittenhouse Square and in coffee houses on Sansom Street, creating a niche for the city's gay community.
[3] In 1962, the LGBT culture developing in Philadelphia eventually inspired the first article published in America that recognized a city's gay community and political scene, which was titled "The Furtive Fraternity" and described political limitations the emerging gay community was confronting, was published in Philadelphia magazine.
Musical bars on Camac and Quince Streets hosted gay and lesbian clientele but required a fee be paid to Philadelphia mob connections for law enforcement to look the other way.
The preservation of these bars around 13th and Locust Streets, through dealings with the Philadelphia mob, made gay culture appear more closely tied to illegal activity, which drew attention from the authorities.
[2] On April 25, 1965, over 150 people were denied service at Dewey's, a local coffee shop and diner at 219 South 17th Street in Philadelphia, near Rittenhouse Square.
Those denied service were variously described at the time as "homosexuals", "masculine women", "feminine men", and "persons wearing non-conformist clothing".
In the process of offering legal support for the teens, local activist and president of the Janus Society, Clark Polak, was also arrested.
The Janus Society said the protests were successful in preventing further arrests and the action was deemed “the first sit-in of its kind in the history of the United States” by Drum magazine.
The reminders were held each year until 1969, with the final picket taking place shortly after the June 28 Stonewall riot in New York City, which was considered the flashpoint of the modern gay liberation movement.
[2] Shortly after the project began, federal assistance was discontinued and the district's demolished lots sat unoccupied during a long recovery period into the 1990s.
Mayor Ed Rendell promoted a new era of gentrification, which helped Washington Square West regain its footing and transform into a healthy, economically viable community by the early 2000s.
[2] However, the lumping together of prostitutes, drug dealers, and homosexuals provoked police raids on gay bars up into the early 1980s.
[22] There are additional neighborhoods in Philadelphia with sizeable and/or growing LGBT populations: East Passyunk Crossing has been dubbed by some as the "New Gayborhood,"[23][24][25] and Mount Airy has a significant number of lesbian households.
[30][31] In 2021, after organizing PrideDay in June and OutFest in October for 32 years, Philly Pride Presents abruptly dissolved facing community accusations of mismanagement, racism, and transphobia.
The center seeks to break down cultural insensitivity that LGBT individuals may encounter in mainstream healthcare systems by communicating through knowledgeable health care and preventative services counselors.
It maintains an archive of local and regional LGBT information and culture, curates exhibitions, and offers community support.
[46] The city hosts many LGBT-related events including Equality Forum, Blue Ball, the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, Pride Parade, and OutFest.
