LGBTQ+ Historic Experience archival project recognized by the city of Sacramento
As part of a project to memorialize LGBTQ+ history in Sacramento, the city has begun work to designate landmarks and create a historic district in Lavender Heights in midtown.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Historic Experience project is more than 200 pages of extensive documentation of Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ history. The document was ceremoniously passed by the City Council earlier this week.
Henry Fuess, the preservation planner for the project, said that since the document has been recognized by the city, the project’s team will be looking at establishing official landmarks and historic LGBTQ+ district.
“Right now, we have five additional properties that have been researched and the listing documents prepared for, but for now, we have to hit the ground running and do outreach to property owners,” Fuess said.
The grant-funded project is a collection of information documented from oral interviews and city archives. The grant provided the city the means to pay stipends to community members to assist in public outreach and the project’s development.
William Burg, the president of Preservation Sacramento, said that while the project is historic documentation, the project is more than recognizing architecture — it’s about how LGBTQ+ people and events associated with parts of Sacramento showcase the “struggle of a community (who fought) for acceptance, for rights, for justice, for survival.” The locations, he said, offer a look at “celebration and joy and community.”
“Without this project, without the oral history interviews and the research, a lot of these stories would be lost,” Burg said.
The LGBTQ+ Historic Experience includes information about Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ history dating back to gender expressions of the region’s tribal communities before colonization to the history of Lavender Heights and gay liberation in Sacramento.
“We’re really (trying to) be able to be a resource for people throughout the community now and be a positive force for positive preservation,” Feuss said. “We’re trying to make it more equitable for anyone in the city.”
The purpose of the publicly available project is to educate individuals on Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ history. The project includes information on not just local Sacramento businesses, but a lengthy history of LGBTQ+ activism at the Capitol.
“As a young queer person myself, I didn’t know a lot of the history of the area,” Fuess said. “To hear these stories and meet the people that were here and owning businesses, running organizations, activism, it was really just so enlightening.”
Members of the community who spoke during Tuesday’s City Council meeting reaffirmed the importance of having documentation of LGBTQ+ history in Sacramento, especially with concerns for what a Donald Trump presidency could bring.
Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela said Sacramento will continue to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, despite what an uncertain future may bring.
“We’re entering a new political context, and Sacramento has taken great strides to affirm our allyship and our leadership with the LGBTQ+ community,” Valenzuela said. “I hope this is just another way that we can show the community tonight that we are still here. We’re still with you, and we are going to stay with you through what comes.”
