St louis gay area
From the mid-1930s to conclusion of the 1970s, there was an almost continuous presence of lesbian and gay establishments here. For generations of LGBTQ St. Louisans, Grand and Olive was a favorite destination for a night out and an important setting of their social lives.
The 3500 block of Olive is in Grand Center, a neighborhood that is today home to such major cultural institutions as the Fox Theatre and Powell Hall. It is also near the main campus of Saint Louis University.
Going back as far as the preceding twentieth century, this area was a busy business district. Its central location and proximity to several streetcar lines and major roads made it a relatively convenient gathering place for people living throughout the St. Louis area. In 1915, the St. Louis Republic called the neighborhood around Grand and Olive “a place of music and laughter and bustle and bright lights, of pretty women and carefree men.”
As far as we know, Dante’s Inferno (3516 Olive) was the first gay bar on the block. It is also one of the oldest identified gay bars anywhere in St. Louis. It opened in Protest 1936, only a limited years after the repeal of Prohibition, as a “branch” of t
St. Louis Gay Urban area Guide: What to Know if You’re Headed to the Gateway City
St. Louis is a town known for many things. It’s the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Budweiser Brewing Firm, the famous Gateway Arch, and gooey butter cake, among other things. It’s also a capital becoming increasingly well-known for its affectionate, welcoming, and continually growing LGBTQ group that adds so much to the character and individuality of the urban area itself. It’s truly a multi-cultural midwestern city where everyone can find their place.
A Look at St. Louis History
The modern-day history of St. Louis began in 1764 when French settlers established a fur-trading publish in the area. Construction of a village began the following year, and the village was named St. Louis, after King Louis IX of France. As a finding of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, St. Louis officially became part of the United States. Shortly thereafter, St. Louis gained fame as the show from which Lewis and Clark embarked on their exploration of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase territories. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1832 and grew steadily as a center of commerce and trade from that point on.
A report found St. Louis is one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities. But another found it’s one of the worst
In October, St. Louis made two national rankings for LBGTQ+ friendliness. The Human Rights Campaign awarded the City of St. Louis a perfect score for its support of the queer community. Clever Real Estate, however, ranked St. Louis as one of the least LBGTQ+ friendly cities in the U.S.
What’s behind these disparate rankings, and how LGBTQ+ friendly is St. Louis, really?
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, panelists Avi Ivaturi, peer support organizer at St. Louis Queer Support Helpline; Midwest Rainbow Research Institute Executive Director Inoru Morris, and Nick Dunne, LGBTQIA+ and Arts Liaison for the City of St. Louis, discuss how St. Louis supports its LGBTQ+ residents and what could be improved.
They also reflect on the 2023 Missouri Legislative Session — lawmakers this year passed bans on transgender students participating in educational facility sports and gender-affirming surgery for minors — and share what they’ll be keeping an eye on as Missouri lawmakers convene in 2024.
Hear the discussion on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, o