Host Rosette Royale talks with Gil Gordon, an award-winning go-go dancer who performed in Pioneer Square clubs in the 1970s.

Coming soon from HistoryLink.org!

Join host Rosette Royale as he explores the LGBTQ+ history of Pioneer Square. Many key moments in Seattle's LGBTQ+ story began in Pioneer Square. On Square One, hear from people who lived this history firsthand, and others who want to preserve it. This podcast is a companion piece to the self-guided walking tour of Pioneer Square's historic LGBTQ+ community on historylink.tours. Visit historylink.org for more on Washington state's past, including other key people and moments in our state's LGBTQ+ history.

When not many places were safe for LGBTQ+ people to be themselves, Pioneer Square's bars and taverns offered a refuge, a place to make friends, meet lovers, dance and dress with relative freedom. Join host Rosette Royale as he takes us through this historic neighborhood and shares stories of the people and establishments that were home to LGBTQ+ communities as far back as the 1930s.

You can watch the video version of this episode here to see these historic buildings as they are now, and as they were.

For many LGBTQ+ people, finding a community and even a family can be vital. So what shaped the Pioneer Square LGBTQ+ community in the 1960s and 1970s? Join host Rosette Royale as he explores the places where people came together, and talks with folks who remember how important that was.

Also check out the video companion to this episode here! https://vimeo.com/772308607

In the summer of 1969, the Stonewall Uprising in New York City launched a new era in LGBTQ+ activism. Following their lead, Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community came together in the 1970s to celebrate their identities, advocate for equal rights, and fight Initiative 13 – a measure submitted to the voters that aimed to strip many civil rights protections from LGBTQ+ people.

Join host Rosette Royale as he talks to the people who helped lead Seattle's first Pride celebration in 1974, and the political movement that defeated I-13.

Check out the video companion to this episode here! https://vimeo.com/historylink/square-one-parades-protests