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Old philadelphia gay bars2/10/2024 Many of the tiny two story houses on Camac Street date from the early 19th century, when the narrow thoroughfare was called Dean Street. (Yes, I’m working on it!)įor the answer to our second question, though, we’ll probably have to look in the heart of the modern Gayborhood on quiet, tree-lined Camac Street. Much of the story of pre-WWII Philadelphia queer history still needs to be researched and written. Without a doubt, we had the same 19th century underground cultures here as New York did, but conservative Philadelphia seems to have discreetly avoided discussing or documenting them as much. George Chauncey has done a wonderful job of documenting gay culture in New York back to the 19th century in his book Gay New York, and Marc Stein has done the same for Philadelphia from WWII through the early 1970s in his City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves. The answer to the first question is simply that we don’t know. Philadelphia, being perhaps the most historically minded city in the country, boasts a mile-long long list of “firsts” and “oldests.” The obvious questions to ask are “What was the first gay bar here?” and “Which is the oldest existing gay bar in Philly today?”
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