HISTORY 50 Years Ago, the Fire at the Up Stairs Lounge Gay Bar in New Orleans Killed 32
Fifty years ago, 32 people died in what was once the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ+ community in U.S. history. On the evening of June 24, 1973, an arsonist torched the entryway into the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans, setting off a catastrophic blaze that quickly ate up the stairway leading up to the bar before consuming the establishment itself.
Sundays at the Up Stairs Lounge were the biggest nights thanks to its beer bust. From 5 to 7 p.m. you could buy a pitcher of beer for a pretty cheap price. Up Stairs was a working-class bar for working-class gay men and lesbians. More than 100 people could easily gather there during its beer bust.
The identity of the arsonist has never been confirmed, and no one was arrested in connection with the fire. However, a known patron had been kicked out of the bar early in the day. While he was leaving, survivors of the fire recalled him saying something along the lines of threatening to set the place ablaze. Witnesses saw him buy lighter fluid at a nearby Walgreens.
He allegedly threw the container in front of the stairwell that went to the entrance to the bar and ran.
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