For Halifax Pride I will be conducting a virtual tour of sorts of some significant spots in Halifax LGBTQ2S+ history. Starting with a crowd favourite, the Turret.
🖤💜💙💚💛🧡
The Turret began as a one-night gay disco on the 3rd floor of 1588 Barrington Street in January of 1976.
LGB people had been thrown out of other bars & needed a space of their own.
The gay bar/community centre held variety & drag shows, folk nights, discos, gay Christian nights, conferences, panels & more. Proceeds went back to the GAE.
It closed in 1982 and the GAE opened Rumours on Granville Street.
You knew that the moment you stepped into the doors you were stepping into your world. You could just be. You could just be." - Walter Borden on The Turret
Adapted from a Facebook post by Rebecca Rose, author of the excellent Before the Parade, A History of Halifax’s Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Communities, 1972-1984.
See also: Before the Parade is a must-read on gay, lesbian and bisexual resistance in Halifax
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