Michael Phair holds the map for the Edmonton Queer History Project’s walking tour at the park named for him in Edmonton on April 7, 2022. The self-guided tour identifies significant LGBTQ landmarks to capture the lived experience in the city.Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail
A contemporary art gallery in downtown Edmonton occupies a space that was once the city’s first gay bar, Club 70. Around the corner on Jasper Avenue, a section of Audreys Books called Orlando Corner carries on the legacy of Orlando Books, a shop that catered to the LGBTQ community.
A 15-minute walk north, a furniture store has taken over the building that was formerly Pisces Health Spa, a bathhouse that was raided by Edmonton police in 1981 and resulted in the largest mass arrest in the province’s history.
The Edmonton Queer History Project, or EQHP, is encouraging people to connect with these and about two dozen other LGBTQ landmarks in and around the city’s downtown core through a walking tour and website that digs into their history.
Kristopher Wells spearheaded the project along with his research team – Rob Browatzke (co-owner of Evolution Wonderlounge, Edmonton’s only remaining queer bar), former city councillor Michael Phair, Japkaran Saroya, Kyler Chittick, Darrin Hagen and Michelle Lavoie. It made its debut as an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta during Edmonton’s 2015 Pride festival, and after further years of research and interviews with members of the queer community, an online resource was born.
The EQHP website officially launched last month, and aims to be an interactive reference for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in LGBTQ history. The site offers up everything from a Pride festival timeline to its own historical podcast, From Here To Queer, but the primary asset Dr. Wells hopes people use is the downloadable downtown map. Twenty-seven landmarks have been split up into two separate self-guided tours, which include in-depth information for reference along one’s journey.
Organizers of the history project, from left, Phair, Kristopher Wells, Darrin Hagen and Michelle Lavoie, are pictured at Michael Phair Park, the starting location of the walking tours.Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail
“Queer history happens everywhere, you just need to know where to look. It’s a rich and dynamic history that we want to celebrate as part of Edmonton’s vibrancy,” Dr. Wells said. “We really focused on the downtown area, where queer communities gather and become the most visible.”
Part of the spark for the project came from queer history bus tours that were held during past Pride festivals, he added.
The chosen sites provide a timeline of the past 50 or so years, Dr. Wells said. They celebrate queer spaces and people, running the gamut from the iconic gay bar the Roost (1977-2007), now a Canadian Border Services Agency office, to Michael Phair Park, named after the former city councillor and the province’s first openly gay politician. And did you know the Second Cup on Jasper Avenue was dubbed the “Gay Cup” – by the LGBTQ community – in the 1990s?
Sadly, many of these landmarks come with a dose of heavy history: prejudice, police brutality, gay bashing.
The team went through archives such as police records, city records and old city newspapers to enrich the experience, Dr. Wells said. “We wanted to make these stories come alive online with archival photos and videos. So many people still don’t know that we have this kind of queer history in the city.”
He has been happy to see businesses and hubs outside of the downtown core embracing the project. The Edmonton International Airport and the Edmonton Public Library, for example, are carrying printed maps for people to take.
Now that the weather is getting more favourable, the project is working with the Edmonton Downtown Business Association to offer hosted walking tours. Dr. Wells said the hosts will likely be queer community members such as Mr. Phair and Mr. Hagen. Dates and details are to be announced soon.
“Other neighbourhoods have now reached out, like Old Strathcona, looking to explore the queer history there. … We believe that queer history happens everywhere and we’re so happy to continue to map to uplift these historical moments in Edmonton.”
Edmonton MLA Janis Irwin, who first heard about the queer history project from Mr. Phair, said it should be embraced by both locals and visitors.
“I’m excited about the fact that the EQHP is highlighting what’s often a not-very-known part of Edmonton’s past,” she said. “I’ve not done the tour yet, but I’ve been loving the EQHP’s social media. They’ve been sharing so much about Edmonton’s queer history, and educating entire generations that may not know a great deal about our past – and that includes myself.”
Projects such as this help bolster inclusivity in the city, she said. When it comes to fostering and supporting queer culture, the politician has seen Edmonton’s restaurant scene improve notably in recent years, too, and she encourages all small businesses to continue amplifying the idea of safe spaces and accepting diversity as it pertains to gender, orientation or otherwise.
“Restaurants and bars in Edmonton are doing good work, generally, but I would love to see more all-gender washrooms and more visible signs of support,” Ms. Irwin said. “A sticker on the door might seem like a minor gesture, but it can mean the world to someone who is unsure if they’re welcome in a space.”
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