Ask the average Seattleite where the 鈥済ay/lesbian district鈥� is, and he or she is likely to point to Capitol Hill. But according to geographer Michael Brown, that鈥檚 only partially true.
鈥淚f you look at where gays and lesbians live, what you notice is there are a lot on Capitol Hill, but there are also a lot in Madison Valley, down in the Central District, Madrona, Leschi, Mt. Baker, as well as Bryant, Holman Road, Ballard and West Seattle,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淚n one sense Capitol Hill remains the 鈥榞ay ghetto鈥�; on the other hand, we are everywhere.鈥�
Brown, a 糖心少女associate professor of geography, teamed with Larry Knopp, of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, to produce 鈥淐laiming Space: Seattle鈥檚 Lesbian and Gay Historical Geography,鈥� a map that was sponsored by the Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project and released last month for Pride Week.
Brown and Knopp were able to determine where gays and lesbians live because the 2000 census identified same-sex partnerships 鈥� something that had not been done in the past. However, the map really wasn鈥檛 about pinpointing where people live. It was about determining 鈥渟ites of significance鈥� to the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgendered (GBLT) community.
What makes a site of significance?
鈥淭hat was constantly open for discussion and debate and ultimately the group decided,鈥� Brown says.
By the group, he means the numerous members of the GBLT community who were consulted. The Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project is a group that has primarily created oral histories by interviewing older members of that community, and the map is an extension of their work. In fact, Brown and Knopp worked from the project鈥檚 hand-drawn map, done in 1996.
Their research was two-pronged. On the one hand they worked with documents such as old publications with gay, lesbian or transgender themes to verify the locations of places on the 1996 map or mentioned by interviewees. And on the other, they continued to interview people to ask them what sites were important. The answers varied a lot by time period, Brown says.
鈥淔or example, an apartment building where everybody was gay and lesbian was considered very significant in the 1950s and 60s, but by the 1980s, it wasn鈥檛 such a big deal,鈥� Brown says.
And sometimes unlikely places made the map 鈥� such as a certain hardware store on Capitol Hill in the 1970s. 鈥淭here was this very ardent lesbian woman who argued for it because it was gay-owned and it was a place where women such as herself were made to feel comfortable,鈥� Brown says.
The University gets special mention as being important to lesbians during the 1970s. A note on the map says, 鈥淭he 糖心少女 provided a supportive environment, which included a women鈥檚 center, women鈥檚 studies program and women鈥檚 commission on campus. The Gay Students Association, a mixed gay and lesbian group, was founded at the U in 1971.鈥�
The map itself is color-coded by time period and covers every decade from the 1940s to the present, although Brown says the earliest decades are emphasized the most. The map concentrates on Capitol Hill, the U-District, Wallingford, Fremont, Pioneer Square and Downtown, with brief mention of some other areas.
Although the map is currently on paper, Brown says he would like to eventually create an electronic form that would be interactive. For now, tours are planned using the map as a guide.
鈥淪trategically, what the project uses the map for is to get people to tell their story,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淥ne of the challenges of a map like this is that it鈥檚 never perfect. People look at it and say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 remember that being there; I thought it was over here.鈥� So then you can turn around and ask them what they remember.鈥�
Work on the map dovetails nicely with Brown鈥檚 academic research, which is on sexuality and space. He says that in urban geography, the two classic models of that are the ghetto 鈥� a concentrated group of gay-lesbian establishments 鈥� and the closet 鈥� the hidden passages and doorways.
鈥淲hat the map shows is that throughout history in the city, there鈥檚 always been a simultaneity, a bothness, to these things,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淎nd if we only look at the ghetto, we miss seeing important sites across the city that were rather closeted.鈥�
He and Knopp are writing a paper, tentatively titled 鈥淐losets and Ghettos,鈥� that uses the Seattle work to make that point.
Meanwhile, for those who would like to obtain a copy of the map, it鈥檚 available from the Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project, PO Box 797, 1122 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122. The project is asking for a $7 donation. Or visit online at .