Lucky After Dark

The Pittsburgh Queer History Project is an ongoing oral history and media preservation initiative headed by Harrison Apple and Dr. Tim Haggerty. PQHP began in 2012 as an investigation of after-hours nightlife in East Liberty. Over the last 2 years, it's collection has revealed new histories of LGBT individuals and community formation in Pittsburgh.

"Lucky After Dark," the PQHP's first exhibition, will open May 30th, 2014 at the Future Tenant Gallery in Downtown Pittsburgh.

This exhibition will illustrate the not-so-humble beginnings of gay and lesbian community formation in Pittsburgh through the lens of private social clubs. In the early 20th century, private social clubs were the home of Pittsburgh's criminal demimonde. Inheriting the underworld of prohibition America, these social clubs became popular after-hours venues, and centers for underground economies.

Lucky After Dark will take you on an intimate journey through a curated selection of our growing archive. Photographs, videos, publications and more will guide you through a history of drag names, low camp, and high drama.

Let our collection of first hand accounts and original photographs provide you with a seductive glimpse of Pittsburgh's mid-century gay and lesbian underworld, where the ingenious use of "members only" carved a protected space for an increasingly visible community.