The City Aroused

The City Aroused is a lively history of urban development and its influence on queer political identity in postwar San Francisco. In this presentation, Damon Scott shows how urban renewal was a catalyst for community organizing among racially diverse operators and patrons of former sailor bars on the San Francisco waterfront. As an unintended consequence of the exclusion of suspected homosexuals from the maritime trades in West Coast ports, seamen’s hangouts in the city came to resemble gay bars during the Lavender Scare of the early 1950s. Local officials responded by treating the strip of bars at the foot of Market Street as a queer containment zone while also making plans to raze and rebuild the area.

Once city redevelopment officials began acquiring land in the early 1960s, queer containment gave way to queer displacement. Aided by law enforcement, they first drove these queer social clubs out of business and then razed the buildings they left behind to make way for the Golden Gateway project. Scott shares his insights about how the destruction of this queer nightlife strip aroused a collective response among bargoers that had far-reaching implications for the national gay rights movement.

This mini-lecture will end with a Q&A with the audience and a book signing. A limited number of copies of The City Aroused (University of Texas Press) will be available for sale.

This session of Mechanics' Institute's Monday Noontime History Series proudly celebrates Pride Month (June).

About the Monday Noontime History Series

Mechanics' Institute, a historical institution in the heart of downtown San Francisco, proudly hosts its noontime history series on select Mondays, offering a fascinating journey through various historical topics that resonate both locally and internationally. This series is a treasure trove for history enthusiasts, featuring an array of engaging subjects that bring the past to life. Past presentations include "Poems of Chinese Exclusion" with Jeffrey Thomas Leong, "The Personal is Political" with Isidra Mencos, and "A Short History of Deception" with Myles Dungan. Through this diverse and enriching series, Mechanics' Institute continues to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of history, bridging the past into the present so that we could more democratically shape our shared futures.

About the Presenter

DAMON SCOTT is an Associate Professor of Geography and American Studies at Miami University of Ohio. His research focuses on the intersections of gender, sexuality, and urban planning in post-war America. His recent book, The City Aroused: Queer Place and Urban Redevelopment in Postwar San Francisco, reconstructs the emergence of queer community organizing among waterfront drinking publics displaced by the Golden Gateway urban renewal project. His work has appeared in the Journal of Urban History, the Journal of Urban Planning History, and Planning Perspectives. He was awarded the best article prize by the Society for American City and Regional Planning History for a piece about homophobia and anti-freeway politics in the Haight in the 1960s.

Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to cancel at any time and issue a full refund. If you are unable to attend this series, please email programs@milibrary.org by Friday, June 14, 2024, to receive a full refund less any non-refundable ticketing fees which may be applicable. All fees must be paid at the time of registration. After Friday, June 14, 2024 no refunds will be issued.

Questions? Please contact programs@milibrary.org.