Skylar Fein’s “Remember The Upstairs Lounge” Opens in New York

NEW YORK, NY.- A New Orleans bar is coming to New York but with a difference. This bar doesn't serve alcohol. And the regulars are long gone. The bar is the Upstairs Lounge, a bohemian French Quarter bar that was destroyed decades ago in a mysterious fire whose story has a surprising power. On a warm summer night in 1973, a popular gay bar in the French Quarter burned down with everyone inside, killing 32 people and injuring dozens more. It was the worst fire in New Orleans history. For such a shocking event, it is (perhaps not surprisingly) little known. Police knew it was arson but could never find hard evidence and the main suspect was never charged as most of the witnesses would not speak to the police - a strange reformulation of silence =death, but understandable given the hostility of the force to the gay community. All but one church refused to hold memorial services for the victims. And a city famed for its open attitude was content to look
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