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The Historic New Orleans Collection
A two-story brick building at a street corner, adorned with multiple rainbow flags. It has white doors and windows, and an outdoor lamp post nearby. The clear sky and urban surroundings create a lively atmosphere.
The Corner Pocket

The Community History of a French Quarter Gay Bar

October 16, 2024, 6–8 p.m.

Williams Research Center
410 Chartres Street
Free with RSVP requiredc

Recently, the Historic New Orleans Collection acquired a significant collection of promotional posters from the Corner Pocket, a French Quarter gay bar which has long been a hub of the local LGBT+ community. The bar was opened in 1982 by the legendary Lee Featherston (“Miss Fly”), who hosted shows and contests there until her death in 2000. Miss Fly was succeeded as show hostess by longtime performers Lisa Beaumann (until her death in 2018) and Felicia Phillips.  

Current owner Michael Elias has donated over twenty years of promotional posters to HNOC, greatly expanding our LGBT+ collections. Join us and the LGBT+ Archives Project as we celebrate this significant acquisition and New Orleans’s rich LGBT+ history. The evening will include remarks by Frank Perez, executive director of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, followed by a conversation with Perez and Michael Elias about the bar’s history and the poster collection. A short performance and light reception will follow the program.

This program is presented in collaboration with the LGBT+ Archives Project of LouisianaOpens in new tab. The organization’s main purpose is to educate the community on the importance of archiving LGBT+ historical materials and to make them available for future generations to access, research, and study. By developing financial resources to assist in the preservation and availability of certain LGBT+ collections, the organization helps promote the proper maintenance and preservation of historical LGBT+ materials and maintains a list of these materials and where they are located.

Partner

Logo for the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, featuring the text LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana with LGBT+ in red and a rainbow stripe underneath.

LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana

Nonprofit organization
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