I know Pride month is nearly over, but better late than never. This site listed below from the LA Conservancy has a great map and list of historically important sites to LGBTQ in Los Angeles.
https://www.laconservancy.org/explore-lgbtq-los-angeles
Many don’t know we had our own “Stonewall”-esque riots right here in Los Angeles, about two years before Stonewall, at The Black Cat… which is still around!
And of likely most interest to readers of this blog, the Tom of Finland house is right here in LA. He did most of his work from this house. The Tom of Finland Foundation is based here, and they occasionally open up the house to the public for events. Find information at the site. Here is a link to an article written about the house from the local paper, the LA Times, written in Oct of 2019… some pics of the house are below. The site Atlas Obscura also mentions the house.
Even if you’re not from LA, it’s worthwhile to take a look at the site… our “Hollywood” influence may have reached you wherever you are. Older gays may remember Bob Mizer, who did Physique Pictorial… he worked out of LA. Which explains why he frequently used Tom of Finland work… they actually didn’t live all that far apart!
Since this mag ran for such a long time, it actually isn’t too difficult to find back issues. I know I got some of mine many years ago from Kayo Books in San Francisco ($15 at the time), but they can also be found on eBay (at the moment, around $40 each).
Lastly, this video from BuzzFeed gives a history of Pride in 6 minutes. It’s nice to be reminded about why Pride even happened, and what exactly it’s celebrating.
