QUEERWARSAW
Trzech Krzy˝y Square
Social and erotic life was particularly rampant on the northern wall of the square. That part of the square remains the “in” spot thanks to the eternally trendy bars: Szpilka, Szpulka and Szparka, where you can work on your laptop while sipping an overpriced latte and keeping watch on the crowd. Keeping watch is indeed well worth it – those cafes are frequented by stage and TV stars. For a long while Szpilka has been the only place downtown to offer decent food in the middle of the night and at dawn, earning the respect of locals and visitors alike. Trzech Krzyży Square was once home to all brands and flavours of faggotry, though they used to be less subtle in the ways of spending their free time. As late as 1998 one of its young regulars told Ewa Celanowicz, a Życie Warszawy journalist, about his cruising practices:
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127. Szparka cafe
128. Żurawia Street
Finding a lover is so easy. I just go out for a walk near Trzech Krzyży Square. Thousands of people might pass by, but I can tell at a glance whether or not someone is one of us. I don't know how I do it. Then it's straight down the fast track. The park is close by for the warmer months, in winter we can crash at someone's crib. There's no time for flowers, pleasantries or heartfelt proclamations, there's just the sinful sex, for which you subconsciously blame your partner as the living proof of your perversity. We part without talking. Love? Everything is turned upside down…
Nowadays our gaydars do not have to be so finely tuned to figure out who is one of us, but cruising used to be somewhat harder in the era of Stalinist uniformity and in later years. Jerzy Giza wrote in 1963:
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A certain city crowd has taken to wearing a red flower in the buttonhole over the summer months. Others carry large, jangling bundles of keys, and yet another group softly whistles a popular tune.
The gay infrastructure extended past the square proper: walking down towards Powiśle district we find ourselves in the park behind the National Museum. The opposite route up Żurawia Street will take us to yet another cruising spot – on the odd-numbered side of the street, along the Ministry of Economics building, bordered by a convenient low wall where one can sit comfortably waiting for company.
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