50th-anniversary commemoration event honors LGBTQ+ victims

July 18, 2024

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - As the 50th anniversary of the Up Stairs Lounge fire approaches, the city prepares to commemorate the victims of the deadliest crime against LGBTQ+ people in US history before the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016.

On Saturday, June 24, at 3:30 p.m., a service and candlelight commemoration will be held to remember the tragic event that forever changed the New Orleans LGBTQ+ community.

The Up Stairs Lounge, once a beloved refuge of love and acceptance, turned into a symbol of tragedy and rejection in just 19 minutes. On that fateful day in 1973, 32 people died, and 15 others were injured in the devastating fire. The repercussions of this incident were felt throughout the city, leaving an indelible mark on the LGBTQ+ community.

Local authorities failed to prioritize the investigation during the fire’s aftermath, and elected officials remained silent. Additionally, victims were denied Catholic funerals, highlighting the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community at the time.

Despite its historical significance as the deadliest crime against LGBT+ individuals in US history until the Pulse nightclub massacre, the arson at the Up Stairs Lounge remains officially unsolved.

To honor the victims and bring awareness to this tragedy, a commemoration event will take place in New Orleans. The service will begin at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 1130 N. Rampart St., followed by a traditional jazz funeral procession from the church to the site of the Up Stairs Lounge, 604 Iberville St.

A candlelight commemoration service will then be held at the lounge site, allowing attendees to pay their respects.

This meaningful program is made possible through the support of several organizations, including the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, The Historic New Orleans Collection, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Crescent City Leathermen, New Orleans & Co., St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans, The New Orleans Marriott, The Faerie Playhouse family, St. George’s Episcopal Church, The Big Easy Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The New Orleans Culture and Tourism Fund, National WWII Museum, American Townhouse, Odyssey House Louisiana, and David Campbell.

The service and commemoration are open to the public and free to attend, but registration is requested. For more information and to register, visit hnoc.org.

Sidebar: The Unsolved Crime that Shook the LGBTQ+ Community

The Up Stairs Lounge fire, which occurred on June 24, 1973, was a tragic arson attack on a gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter. It claimed the lives of 32 individuals and injured 15 others, making it the deadliest fire in the city’s history and the worst mass killing of gays and lesbians in 20th-Century America.

Despite compelling evidence pointing to a chief suspect—a conflicted sex worker who had been forcibly ejected from the bar—the crime remained unsolved. Due to prevalent anti-queer bigotry at the time, the tragedy received only fleeting media coverage. It was dismissed as politically inconvenient, perpetuating the historical mystery that surrounds it even today, 50 years later.

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