To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the flag’s creation, she was honored as the grand marshal in the Phoenix Pride Parade in April 2019. Navy veteran Monica Helms (pictured above) assembled the white, light blue and light pink stripes as a symbol of solidarity for her community. One lesser-known piece of Phoenix LGBTQ+ history is that the Transgender Pride flag was created here.
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For a true dose of history, be sure to catch the Pussy LeHoot & Friends Show - Arizona's longest-running drag show - at 7 p.m. The nightclub is still one of Phoenix's most popular bars to go two-stepping, catch a drag show, or spend Sunday funday on the patio. Corona Ranch and Rodeo Grounds also hosted the first-ever Latino Pride Festival in 2018.Īt the same time the Arizona Gay Rodeo began, John King and Kenny Cunitz opened Charlie's Phoenix, a country-themed gay bar in Phoenix's Melrose District. These days, the rodeo takes place on Valentine's Day weekend and promises pie eating contests, drag shows, vendors, and cowboys as far as the eye can see. The Arizona Gay Rodeo Association, which was one of the founding members of the International Gay Rodeo Association, is still going strong 30-plus years later. And, throughout the weekend that followed, hundreds of couples exchanged vows at the Rosson House and Heritage Square as part of the Rainbows Festival celebration.Ĭorona Ranch and Rodeo Grounds was home to Arizona's first gay rodeo in 1984, and at the time, Arizona was only the fifth state to host an event of this kind.
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Effective immediately, same-sex couples filed into courthouses and churches to legally tie the knot. District Court Judge John Sedwick ruled Arizona's marriage ban unconstitutional. The house is located in Heritage Square, which is also the site of Phoenix Pride's annual Rainbows Festival. The Rosson House Museum is a fully-restored 1895 Queen Anne Victorian house that offers visitors a glimpse into the lifestyles of early Phoenix families (through guided tours). The crosswalks are located at the intersections of Central and First avenues at Portland Street ( in downtown) and Seventh Avenue at Glenrosa ( in the Melrose District). At the request of three of Greater Phoenix's largest LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations, the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved these installations. In July 2018, two Rainbow crosswalks made the Phoenix landscape a little more colorful.
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What distinguishes this gayborhood is the iconic Melrose Arch, one of Phoenix's two rainbow crosswalks, a larger-than-life rainbow mural on the side of Stacy's Melrose (don't miss this photo op), its annual street fair and, of course, the welcoming atmosphere. The Melrose District, a one-mile stretch of Seventh Avenue between Indian School and Camelback roads, is home to a mix of high-rise apartments, almost-historic homes, coffee joints, restaurants, antique/vintage shops, various retail outlets, the highest concentration of LGBTQ+ bars in the state (and likely beyond) - and that all combines for a whole lot of history. These days, everyone knows what a gayborhood is and where to find one - even in Phoenix. Here's where you can find some of Phoenix's LGBTQ+ history today.
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Nonetheless, there are still many places to celebrate (even if they have changed a bit since their heyday). Over the years, however, much of the community's early history has been erased. "He did a lot of paintings of half-naked cowboys at his Rancho Siesta, right here in Phoenix.” “Fast forward to the 1950s and George Quaintance, whose art adorned the cover of many of the era's campy muscle magazines," Shore shares. Since Phoenix's birth, there have been spaces for the LGBTQ+ community to meet and thrive.Īccording to Arizona’s Hip Historian Marshall Shore, who has lived in Phoenix since before the city had a "gayborhood,” the region's LGBTQ+ history dates back to First Nation's people and the idea of two spirits.