While on his frequent business trips around the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Bob Damron wanted to find queer friendly establishments that accepted other men like him. As a gay man, Damron sought friends, companions, and safety at friendly businesses in the various cities he visited. He began jotting down the names of the spots he frequented, sometimes loaning out his notebooks to fellow gay friends to take with them on their own journeys. His prolific lists became the basis of the gay travel guide he began publishing in 1964 titled Bob Damron’s Address Books.
As an ongoing research and archival project at California State University Fullerton with support from the National Endowment of Humanities, Mapping the Gay Guides brings Damron’s guidebooks to life.
Take Mapping the Gay Guides on the go! This exhibition is accompanied by a curated playlist of music that would have been played at LGBT bars and clubs from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The selection represents popular songs from the Motown, Soul, R&B, Disco, and early House music genres. Additionally, some of the songs on the playlist* are also supposedly to have been on the jukebox during the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Follow the link and feel the beat! Mapping the Gay Guides Playlist on Spotify.
“Grazing in the Grass” – The Friends of Distinction
“While You’re Out Looking for Sugar” – Honey Cone
“No Matter What Sign You Are” – Diana Ross & The Supremes
“(We’ve Got) Honey Love” – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
To celebrate Mapping the Gay Guides, please join us at the 1st Annual Drag Show Brunch presented by Altrusa International Anaheim. This event will be held at Ebell Club of Anaheim, 226 N. Helena Street, Anaheim, CA 92805. Tickets are $45 per person or you can purchase a table for 10 for $400. Please contact Reon Boydstun at reon3h@aol.com for ticket info. All monies raised will support Altrusa literacy projects.