111 Places guidebooks tell the stories behind unique, unusual, and often unseen places, including those related to the LGBTQIA+ community. Some places featured in our books are just really fun places to go, like a vivacious drag show, while others tell more serious stories, like the grave of the founder of the Gay Rights movement. During Gay Pride Month, we are happy to share some of the most amazing places in our North American guidebooks.
DARCELLE XV SHOWCASE - PORTLAND, OR
The fabulous Darcelle XV has been performing for the people of Portland, Oregon for over 50 years now! Her iconic, Vegas-style drag show at show is filled with music, comedy, and many more delights. Darcelle XV was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest performing drag queen in 2016. 111 Places in Portland That You Must Not Miss
FIRST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN THE UNITED STATES - BOSTON, MA
Cambridge’s impressive City Hall building is where the very first same-sex marriage license was issued to Marcia Hams and Susan Shepherd at 12:01am on May 17, 2004. The newlyweds walked down the steps here for a midnight party to celebrate this momentous and joyful occasion with many other happy couples and supporters. 111 Places in Boston That You Must Not Miss
GRAVE OF FARNK KAMENY - WASHINGTON, DC
In Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC is the grave of Dr. Frank Kameny, the "Father of Gay Rights.” Professor, WWII veteran, and astronomer, Frank Kameny was fired from his government job in 1957 for being gay and barred from ever working in the federal government again in 1958. His was the first ever sexual orientation-based civil rights case to go to the US Supreme Court in 1961. He lost the case, and he went on to lead the Gay Rights Movement. He was instrumental in getting homosexuality declassified as mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. 111 Places in Washington That You Must Not Miss
CLUB CAROUSEL - CALGARY, AB
Club Carousel was Calgary’s first underground gay club, and it opened in its original location in 1970 until October 1972 before moving to two other locations for six more years. The club name was inspired by an old can of Carousel-brand paint that was found in the basement and used to prepare the rustic space for opening night. The space today is Home and Away, a sports and entertainment bar, but traces of Club Carousel’s historic red-and-yellow wall - and its legacy - remain in a room behind the Shuffle Club. 111 Places in Calgary That You Must Not Miss
JOEL STARKEY LIBRARY
Joel Starkey was a pioneer for the gay community in South Florida. He published the Southern Gay Liberator, founded the Southern Gay Archives, and spearheaded various publications and organizations to unite and inform. He died in 1992 at the young age of 45, after his own battle with HIV and AIDS, but his legacy lives on in his namesake library, which offers works by LGBTQIA+ authors, history books, books on how to speak with children about HIV and AIDS or what family means, plus many works of fiction, reference books, and much more. 111 Places in Palm Beach That You Must Not Miss
RAINBOW CROSSWALK – VANCOUVER, BC
Vancouver created Canada’s first Rainbow Crosswalk. It was painted with pride at the intersection of Davie and Bute Streets and officially opened in 2013 by Tim Stevenson, Canada’s first openly gay provincial cabinet minister. The plaza and crosswalk are the epicentre of Vancouver’s vibrant gay community. Many of the businesses and residents along Davie Street fly the rainbow flag as a symbol of gay pride and bus stop benches and garbage cans are painted bright pink or in rainbow colors celebrating the city’s long history of diversity. 111 Places in Vancouver That You Must Not Miss
Find guidebooks to these cities – and many more around the world – at 111Places.com/Books
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