The show threw a stark light on a hidden chapter of history and offered visual riffs on politics and sexuality circa 1973. Together we proudly to presented Skylar Fein‘s installation, Remember the Upstairs Lounge, which walked visitors right through the swinging bar doors. No Longer Empty invited Dan Cameron to recreate this important work in NYC. The story was allowed to fade from memory. And a city famed for its open attitude was content to look the other way. All but one church refused to hold memorial services for the victims. For such a shocking event, there is (perhaps not surprisingly) little known. Police knew it was arson but could never find hard evidence and the main suspect was never charged as most of the witnesses would not speak to the police – a strange reformulation of silence = death, but understandable given the hostility of the force against the gay community. It was the worst fire in New Orleans history.
On a warm summer night in 1973, a popular gay bar in the French Quarter burned down with everyone inside, killing 32 people and injuring dozens more. The bar is the Upstairs Lounge, a bohemian French Quarter bar that was destroyed decades ago in a mysterious fire whose story has a surprising power. Skylar Fein: Remember the Upstairs LoungeĪ New Orleans bar is coming to New York but with a difference.