Preservation Connecticut is working to fill long-standing gaps in the state’s historic record by documenting sites connected to LGBTQ+ history, an effort the organization says remains “at a nascent stage” within the preservation field.
The nonprofit, whose mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the buildings, sites, and landscapes that contribute to the heritage of Connecticut, has published an interactive map highlighting dozens of public locations tied to LGBTQ+ life in Connecticut, from former bookstores to political organizing landmarks.
Mike Forino, Director of Preservation and Partnerships, said the initiative to record the development of LGBTQ+ culture in the state began organically.
“We had a fellow do a research project on LGBTQ history, so we thought it was a good time given the climate in the world to continue.” He added that although the organization works to preserve resources associated with all communities across the state, “there just really hasn’t been a lot of representation of LGBTQ+ in historic preservation circles in our state.”
The project initially launched through the work of Anna Fossi, a 2023 Edward F. Gerber Fellow, to expand public understanding of how LGBTQ+ residents have shaped Connecticut’s cultural, social, and political landscape.
Fossi said she mapped historic LGBTQ+ sites in Connecticut using information she found in several gay and lesbian publications, including “The Griffin” from the 1970s, “A Lesbian Position” from the 1980s in New Haven, and the Hartford-based “Metroline,” published from the 1980s to 2017. These publications regularly listed bars, events and community spaces.
She noted several surprises in her research like Connecticut having what is believed to be one of the country’s oldest gay bars, the Cedar Brook in Westport.
But what really caught her attention is how Connecticut has historically been ahead of the curve on LGBTQ+ civil rights. In 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the Connecticut State Constitution’s equal-protection guarantees. In 1991, the state passed the Connecticut gay rights law, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment and credit. A year earlier, Connecticut had amended its hate-crimes statute to include sexual orientation as a protected class.
“Connecticut was always ahead of the curve with getting civil rights bills passed, and early with marriage equality,” said Fossi. “I think it’s because it was a smaller state, they were able to organize.”
The current map found on the organization’s website serves as a foundation for what it envisions as a far more extensive statewide survey in the coming years.
Many historically significant LGBTQ+ spaces, Forino noted, have gone largely undocumented despite their importance as safe gathering places, community businesses, and organizing hubs.
So far, the team has identified more than 130 locations connected to LGBTQ+ history. Sites include the state Capitol in Hartford where LGBTQ+ laws have been enacted. In Fairfield county, the map includes the Gay Men’s Group of Fairfield County, which used to meet at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Stamford and the Triangles Community Center in Norwalk, a non profit for LGBTQIA+ people across Fairfield County since 1990.
Forino said the organization in the process of applying for grant funding to continue the work, but that outcome is still to be determined.
To help move the work forward, Preservation Connecticut has partnered with Central Connecticut State University. “We have a partnership with Central Connecticut State University's history department to have some students work on this project for the next two semesters, so that will move it forward,” Forino said.
Public participation is also a key part of the initiative. Preservation Connecticut is inviting residents to submit sites they believe hold LGBTQ+ significance, including public locations or private homes, though private residences will only be added with owner consent.
“If they know of a historic place or they know of a story of a place, if they could submit it, it needs to go through a vetting process, of course, and some additional research,” Forino said.
The organization says it will continue updating the project as new information becomes available and encourages anyone with knowledge of local LGBTQ+ history to contribute.
To view the current map or propose a site visit Preservation Connecticut’s website.