The City Aroused : Queer Places and Urban Redevelopment in Postwar San Francisco.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scott, Damon.

Series:

William & Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere.

The William & Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gay bars--California--San Francisco--History.

Gay bars.

Gay bars--Political aspects--California--San Francisco--History.

Sexual minority community--Political activity--California--San Francisco--History.

Sexual minority community.

Sexual minority community--California--San Francisco--History.

City planning--Political aspects--California--San Francisco--History.

City planning.

Urban renewal--Political aspects--California--San Francisco--History.

Urban renewal.

California--San Francisco.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource (263 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2024.

Summary:

"The City Aroused is a lively history of urban development and its influence on queer political identity in postwar San Francisco. By reconstructing the planning and queer history of waterfront drinking establishments, Damon Scott shows that urban renewal was a catalyst for community organizing among racially diverse operators and patrons with far-reaching implications for the national gay rights movement. Following the exclusion of suspected homosexuals from the maritime trades in West Coast ports in the early 1950s, seamen's hangouts in the city came to resemble gay bars. Local officials responded by containing the influx of gay men to a strip of bars on the central waterfront while also making plans to raze and rebuild the area. This practice ended when city redevelopment officials began acquiring land in the early 1960s. Aided by law enforcement, they put these queer social clubs out of business, replacing them with heteronormative, desexualized land uses that served larger postwar urban development goals. Scott argues that this shift from queer containment to displacement aroused a collective response among gay and transgender drinking publics who united in solidarity to secure a place in the rapidly changing urban landscape"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : exodus on the eve of destruction

The changing sexual geography of the waterfront

The birthplace of modern San Francisco

Hanging out at the Ensign Cafe

A queer history of 90 Market Street

The demise of the queer waterfront

Conclusion : destruction and creation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781477328361

147732836X

9781477328354

1477328351

OCLC:

1406409431