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Though there were dozens of gay bars in the French Quarter at the time, the LGBTQ community was still forced to remain underground. The New Orleans MCC had just taken off and was still gaining traction. The UpStairs Lounge and the MCCĪt the time of the fire, the three-story building on 604 Iberville Street was occupied by The Jimani Lounge restaurant and its offices on the first floor, and the UpStairs Lounge and the MCC on the second and third floors.
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Being that the ingrained homophobia meant that the city turned a blind eye to the tragedy, many residents today know little about what took place on that fateful Sunday evening. Paranormal experts who investigated the building have been able to communicate with the spirits of the victims, many of whom simply want to be remembered.
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Ghosts of the victims have even appeared in full apparition. The smell of smoke and burning flesh has also been reported, while others report feelings of being watched by unseen entities. The staff and workers of The Jimani have reported several paranormal phenomena in the building, often hearing the screams of those who perished in the fire.
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The third floor, the former home of the UpStairs Lounge, remains unused and partially damaged. The building is home to the offices and a kitchen for The Jimani, a popular bar in New Orleans, which also occupied the building at the time of the fire. Today, a memorial plaque sits on the sidewalk in front of the building. The victims were openly ridiculed by the media. Many citizens of New Orleans, especially the Christian community, scoffed at the attack, brushing it off as divine intervention. The police hardly investigated, and the attack remains a cold case to this day. The city of New Orleans, like most of the nation, was still very hostile towards gays at the time.
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The arson was the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ community until the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016. Someone set fire to the building, killing 32 people and injuring 15 others. But on Sunday, June 24th, 1973, it all came to a tragic end. Despite the fact that the New Orleans LGBTQ community was forced to remain lowkey, the UpStairs Lounge provided hope. The MCC was the first LGBTQ church in the US. The building was also the headquarters of the New Orleans chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church, called the MCC for short. Patrons gathered at the UpStairs to drink, play piano, and enjoy drag shows. The UpStairs was a safe space where the LGBTQ community could congregate amidst the deep hatred and oppression they faced in the Christian South. The LGBT-themed festivals calendar in New Orleans is certainly well-stocked with enormous events.During the early 1970s, the UpStairs Lounge was a thriving gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Ann Street and North Rampart Street, as well as within both the trendy neighborhoods of Bywater and Faubourg Marigny, the latter of which is often referred to as 'The Marigny'.Įspecially notable nightspots within the French Quarter of New Orleans are generally clustered along and around Bourbon Street and nearby Burgundy Street, where highlights include the Bourbon Pub and Parade (open 24-7), Napoleon's Itch, Oz and RawHide 2010.Īlso standing on Bourbon Street is the Cafe Lafitte in Exile, which is actually the most historic continuously operating gay bar to be found in the whole of the United States, opening as long ago as 1953.įurther bars and clubs in New Orleans can be found standing on roads such as Dauphine Street, Decatur Street, Elysian Fields Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Louisa Street, North Rampart Street, Royal Street, St. There are also plenty of distractions to be found lining roads such as St. New Orleans' gay and lesbian community tends to be centered around a number of specific areas, particularly the French Quarter, along Bourbon Street. And if you are looking to socialize and party well into the early hours of the following day, then this city certainly obliges in the form of popular bars and nightclubs. A lively city all through the year, famed for its Mardi Gras festivals and laid-back lifestyle, there is no denying that New Orleans is a very gay friendly and welcoming city, popular with the LGBT crowd of Louisiana.