y k c Lufter A
k r Da By Harrison Apple
Founded in May 2012, the Pittsburgh Queer History Project (PQHP) is an ongoing oral history and media preservation initiative, founded by Harrison Apple. Beginning with the excavation of an abandoned East Liberty after-hours club, the PQHP grew in scope to reinvestigate Pittsburgh history through the lens of the private social club. The PQHP retraced a nearly forgotten history of how the private social club became the lucrative tool of a few individuals and radically changed the lives of LGBT Pittsburghers from the 1960s onward. Through the generosity of countless
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individuals, Apple was able to contact club owners, bartenders, performers, and patrons to illustrate a unique history of “gay life� which risked erasure. Where so many histories emphasize invisibility, especially outside of the bustling cities of New York and San Francisco, Pittsburgh is home to the story of a workingclass gay scene which evolved in response to conditions, opportunities, and restraints. In collaboration with Dr. Tim Haggerty, Director of the Humanities Scholars Program at Carnegie Mellon University, the PQHP has