WITH
NATIONAL
monuments,
museums
and
historical
moments
dominating
life
in
Washington,
D.C.,
the
city’s
gay
population
is
sometimes
overlooked.
But
a
South
Carolina-based
publishing
house
that
specializes
in
documenting
key
details
about
cities
and
towns
nationwide
is
helping
change
this.
After
releasing
titles
about
D.C.
neighborhoods
including
Dupont
Circle,
Cleveland
Park
and
Capitol
Hill,
and
documenting
the
history
of
D.C.
Marines,
firefighters
and
baseball,
among
other
topics,
South
Carolina-based
Arcadia
Publishing
is
planning
next
week
to
unveil
its
latest
D.C.
themed
title:
“Gay
and
Lesbian
Washington
D.C.”
The
128-page
paperback
is
filled
with
images
of
gay
D.C.,
but
contains
far
too
many
details
about
individuals
believed
to
be
gay
without
offering
any
concrete
evidence.
Nonetheless,
the
photos
D.C.
resident
Frank
Muzzy
collected,
from
various
sources,
of
people
and
places
sketch
an
intriguing
portrait
of
gay
life
in
Washington
during
the
past
200
years.
“I
felt
that
I’m
56
years
old
and
that
we
should
be
handing
down
these
stories,”
Muzzy
says.
“We’re
not
the
traditional
family
where
grandma
hands
down
the
stories.
I
think
we
need
to
collect
them
ourselves
and
hand
them
down
to
the
next
generation.”
THE
BOOK
BEGINS
in
1784
with
city
designer
Pierre
L’Enfant,
who
Muzzy
says
in
the
book
was
probably
gay.
His
relationship
with
German
general
Baron
von
Steuben,
who
trained
soldiers
at
Valley
Forge
for
the
Continental
Army,
is
highlighted
in
the
book.
There
also
are
photos
of
a
number
of
other
famous
Washingtonians
who
Muzzy
suggests
were
likely
gay.
They
include
President
James
Buchanan,
his
live-in
companion,
William
Rufus
de
Vane
King,
Abraham
Lincoln,
J.
Edgar
Hoover
and
Eleanor
Roosevelt.
“In
many
cases,
the
word
‘gay’
or
‘homosexual’
is
a
late
18th
century
term,
so
you
can
only
speculate,”
Muzzy
says.
“What
I
put
in
the
book
is
what
the
speculation
is,
where
it
comes
from,
why
we
think
it’s
valid.
As
in
all
history,
we
should
read
between
the
lines.
That’s
where
you
find
the
meat
of
most
stories,
the
things
that
are
left
out
for
social
reasons.”
Other
contemporary
and
historical
gay
figures
mentioned
in
the
book
include
poet
Walt
Whitman,
lawyer
Roy
Cohn,
as
well
as
U.S.
Reps.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.)
and
Jim
Kolbe
(R-Ariz.).
Muzzy
also
includes
in
the
book
pictures
documenting
various
gay
civil
rights
protests
and
related
actions,
including
demonstrations
from
the
women’s
suffrage
movement.
Snapshots
from
Gay
Pride
events,
like
Capital
Pride
and
D.C.’s
Black
Pride,
also
are
included,
in
addition
to
pictures
from
annual
celebrations
like
the
Atlantic
Stampede,
a
popular
gay
rodeo
event,
and
the
Mr.
D.C.
Eagle
contest.
In
addition,
the
book
devotes
a
chapter
to
HIV/AIDS
activism,
protests
and
treatment
and
includes
a
chapter
highlighting
different
gay
neighborhoods.
It
also
contains
details
about
institutions
that
longtime
residents
probably
couldn’t
imagine
life
without:
Whitman-Walker
Clinic,
the
local
AIDS
and
gay
health
organization,
Results:
The
Gym,
and
Lambda
Rising
bookstore.
Some
gay
places
that
no
longer
operate
also
are
included
like
Nob
Hill,
LaZambra
restaurant
and
Tracks,
a
popular
gay
club.
“I’ve
already
gotten
feedback
from
people
who
glanced
at
my
copy
and
they
say
‘I
remember
this.
I
remember
that,’”
Muzzy
says.
“I
want
to
conjure
up
memories,
hopefully
fond
memories,
that
have
gotten
lost.
These
are
shadows
of
our
lives
and
this
is
our
history.”
MUZZY
BEGAN
TEACHING
himself
about
D.C.’s
gay
history
when
he
moved
here
from
his
native
West
Hollywood,
Calif.,
in
1996.
He
works
as
a
photo
artist
and
as
art
manager
at
Pulp,
the
gay-owned
card
company
with
stores
near
14th
and
R
streets,
NW,
and
on
Capitol
Hill.
Muzzy,
who
has
degrees
in
psychology
and
American
studies
from
California
State
University,
Fullerton,
says
he
taught
himself
about
the
city’s
past
so
he
could
educate
and
entertain
houseguests
when
they
visit.
Formerly
the
city's
longest-running
gay
bar,
Nob
Hill
is
gone
but
not
forgotten
and
appears
in
Frank
Muzzy's
photographic
history
of
gay
D.C.
(Photo
courtesy
of
the
Rainbow
History
Project)
|
Last
year,
an
editor
from
Arcadia
Publishing,
which
is
based
in
Charleston,
S.C.,
saw
a
display
about
equal
marriage
rights
for
same-sex
couples
at
one
of
the
Pulp
stores.
He
suggested
that
Muzzy
submit
a
proposal
for
a
book
on
the
city’s
gay
and
lesbian
life.
After
conducting
more
research,
Muzzy
submitted
the
proposal
and
the
company
accepted
it.
“When
he
did
the
proposal,
that
was
just
the
first
step,”
says
Kathryn
Korfonta,
acquisitions
editor
at
Arcadia,
who
worked
closely
with
Muzzy
on
the
book.
“When
he
turned
in
his
materials,
he
did
a
great
job.
It
was
just
what
we
were
looking
for.
“[Our
books]
are
predominantly
photographic
and
they’re
a
unique
way
to
show
the
history
of
a
community,”
Korfonta
says.
“People
want
to
see
their
history
in
photographs,
and
the
books
are
a
good
way
to
do
that.”
Muzzy
says
he
conducted
research
at
the
Library
of
Congress,
the
Smithsonian
Institution,
the
National
Archives,
and
D.C.
libraries
to
find
many
of
the
photos
included
in
the
book.
For
more
contemporary
information,
he
borrowed
photos
from
various
gay
civil
rights
activists
and
organizations
familiar
with
D.C.’s
gay
population.
“It
was
a
networking
thing,”
Muzzy
says.
“I
would
talk
to
people
and
they
would
say,
‘Did
you
talk
to
so
and
so?’”
Two
key
sources
were
Mark
Meinke,
founder
of
the
Rainbow
History
Project,
a
group
dedicated
to
preserving
the
city’s
gay
history,
and
Patsy
Lynch
a
...
