Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission makes no recommendation for Donny's Place in Polish Hill
Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission has decided to make no recommendation on the fate of Donny's Place as efforts are ongoing to have the former gay bar designated as 'historic.'
Donny's Place in Polish Hill was the hub of LGBTQ life in the city from 1973 to its closure in 2022. If the designation goes through, it would be the first queer history landmark in western Pennsylvania.
The founder of Donny's Place, Donald Thinnes, a Vietnam veteran, bought the building in 1973 and made it a safe haven for LGBTQ people, even offering life-saving HIV/AIDS testing.
Over the years, the bar had numerous names, including Leather Central. But it was more than a nightclub. It also functioned as a community center, hosting fundraisers, memorials and spaghetti dinners.
A public hearing was held this week and there wasn't enough support to either approve or deny the recommendation.
The people who have nominated Donny's to be designated as historic are accused of using the nomination to stop the building of proposed townhouses.
The nomination will now go before the city's planning commission and eventually city council.
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Los Angeles Times
04-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Edmund White, a groundbreaking gay author, dies at 85
NEW YORK — Edmund White, the groundbreaking man of letters who documented and imagined the gay revolution through journalism, essays, plays and such novels as 'A Boy's Own Story' and 'The Beautiful Room Is Empty,' has died. He was 85. White's death was confirmed Wednesday by his agent, Bill Clegg. Along with Larry Kramer, Armistead Maupin and others, White was among a generation of gay writers who in the 1970s became bards for a community no longer afraid to declare its existence. He was present at the Stonewall raids of 1969, when arrests at a club in New York's Greenwich Village led to the birth of the modern gay movement and for decades was a participant and observer through the tragedy of AIDS, the advance of gay rights and culture and the recent backlash. A resident of New York and Paris for much of his adult life, he was a novelist, journalist, biographer, playwright, activist, teacher and memoirist. 'A Boy's Own Story' was a bestseller and classic coming-of-age novel that demonstrated gay literature's commercial appeal. He wrote a prizewinning biography of playwright Jean Genet, along with books on Marcel Proust and Arthur Rimbaud. He was a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where colleagues included Toni Morrison and his close friend, Joyce Carol Oates. 'Among gay writers of his generation, Edmund White has emerged as the most versatile man of letters,' cultural critic Morris Dickstein wrote in the New York Times in 1995. 'A cosmopolitan writer with a deep sense of tradition, he has bridged the gap between gay subcultures and a broader literary audience.' White was born in Cincinnati in 1940, but at age 7 moved with his mother to the Chicago area after his parents divorced. His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a psychologist. Feeling trapped and at times suicidal, White sought escape through the stories of others, including Thomas Mann's 'Death in Venice' and a biography of dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. 'As a young teenager I looked desperately for things to read that might excite me or assure me I wasn't the only one, that might confirm my identity I was unhappily piecing together,' he wrote in the 1991 essay 'Out of the Closet, on to the Bookshelf.' As he wrote in 'A Boy's Own Story,' he knew as a child that he was attracted to boys but for years was convinced he must change — out of a desire to please his father (whom he otherwise despised) and a wish to be 'normal.' Even as he secretly wrote a 'coming out' novel while a teenager, he insisted on seeing a therapist and begged to be sent to boarding school. One of the funniest and saddest episodes from 'A Boy's Own Story' told of a brief crush he had on a teenage girl, ended by a polite and devastating note of rejection. 'For the next few months I grieved,' White writes. 'I would stay up all night crying and playing records and writing sonnets to Helen. What was I crying for?' Through much of the 1960s, he was writing novels that were rejected or never finished. Late at night, he would head out to bars. A favorite stop was the Stonewall, where he would down vodka tonics and try to find the nerve to ask a man he had a crush on to dance. He was in the neighborhood on the night of June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall and 'all hell broke loose.' 'Up until that moment we had all thought homosexuality was a medical term,' wrote White, who soon joined the protests. 'Suddenly we saw that we could be a minority group — with rights, a culture, an agenda.' White's debut novel, the surreal and suggestive 'Forgetting Elena,' was published in 1973. He collaborated with Charles Silverstein on 'The Joy of Gay Sex,' a follow-up to the bestselling 'The Joy of Sex' that was updated after the emergence of AIDS. In 1978, his first openly gay novel, 'Nocturnes for the King of Naples,' was released and he followed with the nonfiction 'States of Desire,' his attempt to show 'the varieties of gay experience and also to suggest the enormous range of gay life to straight and gay people — to show that gays aren't just hairdressers, they're also petroleum engineers and ranchers and short-order cooks.' His other works included 'Skinned Alive: Stories' and the novel 'A Previous Life,' in which he turns himself into a fictional character and imagines himself long forgotten after his death. In 2009, he published 'City Boy,' a memoir of New York in the 1960s and '70s in which he told of his friendships and rivalries and gave the real names of fictional characters from his earlier novels. Other recent books included the novels 'Jack Holmes & His Friend' and the memoir 'Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris.' 'From an early age I had the idea that writing was truth-telling,' he told the Guardian around the time 'Jack Holmes' was released. 'It's on the record. Everybody can see it. Maybe it goes back to the sacred origins of literature — the holy book. There's nothing holy about it for me, but it should be serious and it should be totally transparent.' Italie writes for the Associated Press.
Buzz Feed
04-06-2025
- Buzz Feed
People Share What LGBTQ Pride Means To Them
I had the pleasure to attend Outloud Music Festival at WeHo Pride as a complimentary guest, and it was a beautiful weekend celebrating LGBTQ+ people and amplifying queer artists and allies. Over the weekend, we witnessed performances by Lizzo, Remi Wolf, Kim Petras, Honey Dijon, Paris Hilton, and many other music artists and performers. With everyone in great spirits, it was the perfect opportunity to ask the Ouloud Music Festival guests, "What Pride means to them?" and their responses were inspiring, heartfelt, and necessary. Here's what people had to say: "Having the comfortability to be yourself. Unfortunately, a lot of families and people are not able to express themselves. It's being able to express yourself, and hopefully build lifelong friendships and to break out the shell and stigmas that currently exist about the queer community." —Reggie "Pride is a protest. It means liberating our rights, and that includes trans rights. It means having as much sex as we can have, and liberating our rights preferably at the same time." "Pride means being whoever you need to be in this lifetime to make it, and I do feel like most people don't do that. Be exactly who you are. Don't fit into a mold. Find people who accept you for who you are." —Adam "Pride is not only a celebration of love and joy and life, but also a promise we are making to the people that came before us. Queer people have always been here, but there are so many ugly parts of our past where queer identities were systematically erased. For example, the way that the AIDS crisis was handled in the '80s. When I celebrate Pride, I am not only using it as a time to be out and open in my identity, but to honor those who weren't able to do so in the past, and those who fought for our rights to exist and be visible in the world." "A celebration of acceptance and just living your authentic life. There are lot of people who don't live their authentic lives and we do." —Grace "Pride is a remembrance of the Stonewall riots; it's a celebration of our community where we can present a safe space and remind everyone they are loved and matter; it's a message that the LGBTQ+ community has always been here and will always be here." "Pride means to be fully free in whatever identity and orientation you are and to celebrate queer culture with the community and others." —Linda "Pride means celebrating the anniversary of the strong and fearless pioneers in the community who stood up for what's right in 1969, plus honoring the fight that has continued ever since." "Pride means community, and it's a reminder that no matter what the world throws at us, we are still here and will continue to be here no matter what." —Paola Pride, to me, is a time when it's good to reflect on those who came before [us] to give [us] the advantages and opportunities [we have today]. It's also a time for me personally when I like to check in on my development and my journey as a gay person, who I have become, and whether I am proud of that person. As the years go on, the answer has become yes more and more." "Being an ally." —Zack "Taking ownership of who I am without shame or guilt of the heteronormative!" "To me Pride means allowing yourself to love and be loved no matter what. It's not a season, it's a feeling." —K "Pride means never being ashamed of who you are and always being true to yourself (I guess, LOL)" "A celebration of how far we've come and how far we have to go." —Gabriel "Pride is being able to feel enthusiastic and accepted all at the same time without having to worry if I fit in." "Being proud of who you are no matter what." —Tina Lastly, "My existence is validated." Now, it's your turn. I want to hear from the BuzzFeed Community: "What Pride means to you?" Don't be afraid to be honest, thoughtful, or just have fun. It's your time to express yourself. If you need, use the anonymous form below. The best responses will be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
‘Seen, celebrated and supported': Travis County raises Pride Flag at 5th annual ceremony
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tuesday, Travis County Judge Andy Brown hosted the Fifth Annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at the Travis County Administrative Building. Participants raised the 'Progress Pride Flag' at the ceremony, a press release stated. The Progress Pride Flag featured a chevron of white, pink, light blue, brown and black to symbolize transgender rights, people of color and those living with or lost to HIV/AIDS, said the release. This was the fifth year the Pride Flag flew over Travis County. In 2021, the commissioners court voted for the first time ever to 'approve flying the flag over the Travis County Administration Building,' said the release. According to the release, this was part of a resolution that adopted 'comprehensive policies that prohibit contractors from discriminating against race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/ expression or veteran status.' Brown spoke on the importance of the flag's flight over Travis County. 'Now more than ever, we need to reaffirm our commitment to the LGBTQIA community,' Brown expressed. 'In raising the Progress Pride Flag, which is still legal in Texas, Travis County acknowledges the trailblazers, activists, friends and family who paved the way for inclusion and equality throughout history,' Brown added. Pride Month is observed in June. It is a 'time to honor the resilience and contributions of our LGBTQIA community members,' said Brown. Brown said raising the Pride Flag is a powerful reminder that every person is 'seen, celebrated and supported.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
