![]() Upstairs Lounge Fire Curated by University of New Orleans History Department () In 2023, a 50th anniversary commemoration will document and share this overlooked event with the community and honor the victims and their families. See this page for our online archive of images related to the UpStairs Lounge Fire. See this page for more detailed information about the UpStairs Lounge Fire. The arson at the Up Stairs Lounge remains officially unsolved despite being the deadliest crime against LGBT+ people in US history until the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando. Radio commentators joked that the victims’ remains should be buried in fruit jars. Archbishop Philip Hannan denied the victims Catholic funerals. ![]() One officer told a reporter, “This was, after all, a queer bar.” No elected official responded publicly to the fire. Thirty-two people perished in the fire, and the New Orleans LGBT+ community was changed forever.Īt the time, local police did not consider the tragedy a top priority. The UpStairs Lounge was a refuge of love and acceptance in the New Orleans community until, in a matter of 19 minutes, it became a symbol of tragedy and rejection. In 1973, the deadliest fire in New Orleans’ history occurred in a small gay bar at 604 Iberville Street in the French Quarter.
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