Gay bars lynn ma
My Apartment Building Once Housed One Of The Oldest Gay Clubs In The State
On its last late hours open in September , the liquor ran out at Fran’s Place. Darlene Casey said one beer sat in the cooler, but it was too old to drink. A longtime regular, Casey watched patrons dance and sway, savoring one of the oldest gay bars in the commonwealth for the last time. She wanted to leave something behind, a way for people to know that she and her friends were there. So she grabbed black and silver markers.
“I approached [the owner] Jay Collins and I said, ‘can we sign our names on the wall? Casey remembered, “and he said, ‘well it is sold [the new owner] probably might take it down, so yeah, move ahead Darlene.’ ”
The crowd gathered around an elderly brick wall and began to write. Some had been coming to the Fran’s for decades. They signed their names as well as the names of old friends who passed away.
“[The wall] just shows the history and what Fran's did for the community, for us,” Casey said. “We are truly a family. Be proud and be clamorous and we were noisy. We were definitely raucous. It's amazing
LYNN, MA — One of the North Shore's first male lover bars will be closing at the end of the month.
Fran's Place, located at Washington St. in Lynn, announced its closure on Sept. 7 via its Facebook page. A farewell party will be hosted on Sept. 24 to praise customers. According to multiple media outlets, the business and property is existence sold.
reports that the business' beginnings can be traced back as far as the s, and it opened as the Lighthouse Cafe in Upon then-owner Robert Collins' death in , his wife and children took over the business and renamed it Fran's place.
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The announce also indicates that the bar was the first to enter a float in Boston's lgbtq+ pride parade, the first to initiate a fundraiser for AIDS and among the first in the state to host gay weddings.
Eater Boston reports that Fran's Place is one of several bars that claim to be the oldest homosexual bar in the state.
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The lock will officially clos
United Lynn Pride: Preserving LGBTQIA+ History in Massachusetts
While major LGBTQIA+ historical moments often focus on immense cities like San Francisco and New York, every community has its own rich queer history. Lynn, Massachusetts—a diverse working-class municipality of , residents located on ancestral Naumkeag lands—has preserved an extraordinary + years of LGBTQIA+ heritage through an award-winning group project.
Historic Significance of Lynn&#;s LGBTQIA+ Community
Lynn holds remarkable firsts in LGBTQIA+ history. The Light Dwelling Cafe at Washington Street was Massachusetts&#; first documented gay prevent, later known as Fran&#;s Place, operating for 79 years from to In , Lynn union activists Marcia Hams and Susan Shepherd received the first gay marriage license in the Together States after meeting while functional at GE in the s and 80s.
&#;Through A Rainbow Lens&#; Project
United Lynn Pride (ULP), formed in , launched an ambitious historical documentation project called &#;Through A Rainbow Lens: A Reflection on Lynn&#;s LGBTQ+ History.&#; Led by Project Director Jim Moser an
Exhibition Opening Reception: “Through a Rainbow Lens, a Reflection on Lynn’s LGBTQ+ History”
&#;Through A Rainbow Lens, A Reflection on Lynn&#;s Diverse History,&#; an exhibit that spans nearly a century of city history, covers everything from Lynn&#;s nearly 20 gay bars to members of the city&#;s LGBTQ+ community who went on to national fame. The project features over two dozen filmed interviews with members of the city&#;s LGBTQ+ community, some dating back 40 years, and over photos, fliers, posters, and dozens of news articles.
The exhibit opens with a public reception on June 5th at p.m. at the Lynn Museum & Arts Center, followed by a panel discussion at p.m. moderated by Cristela Guerra, senior arts and culture writer at WBUR. The panel features Dr. Drew Darien, Humanities Advisor, Cristian Recinos, web designer, and Dr. Pat Gozemba, LGBTQ+ History Advisor. The exhibit runs through October 31st.
United Lynn Pride produced the proposal in collaboration with Salem State University, the Lynn Museum & Arts Center, and The History Venture, an LGBTQ+ archive in Boston,