 Thank you for your interest in our virtual session entitled see you at Lily's a focus on LGBTQ plus cultural heritage documentation I am Cynthia Lachace Torres, and I am the manager of Arlington County, Virginia's Historic Preservation Program. My pronouns are she and her And I'm Katie Hummell an architectural historian with fire blinder bell architects and planners based in Washington, DC My pronouns are also she and her Our presentation will highlight our collaboration on a do an a new documentation effort to study LGBTQ plus heritage in Arlington County, Virginia We'll be discussing the life of gay rights pioneer and activist Dr. Lily Vincennes who moved to Arlington in 1969 and hosted a weekly gay woman's open house at her residence here in the county During our research we came across a poem from April 1976 written by Mary Ann Daly It is called Lily's commercial and we wanted to read an excerpt to you to give you a sense of the community that Lily fostered at her home You can come early you can come late you can come sober But don't come straight because even Noah Webster knew that gay means good And if you've never been to Lily's I reckon you should Carlin Springs to eighth place. I'm feeling all right at Lily's open house on a Wednesday night Before explaining our research, I first want to outline some learning objectives Through our session, you will be able to one Discover some of the research resources that can help identify significant LGBTQ plus properties both in Virginia and nationally to explore the history of the homophile movement and the development of a lesbian social community here in northern Virginia Through the life and activism of Dr. Lily Vincennes three Identify criteria under which properties associated with LGBTQ plus heritage could be eligible for the national register and for Understand relevant preservation issues such as how to assess existing historic sites through the lens of LGBTQ plus heritage How to consider sensitive public outreach strategies and ideas about historic interpretation possibilities We hope to inspire other groups and localities to consider similar documentation projects We also will share some of our lessons learned towards the end of our presentation I'll start with a quick historical overview of Arlington County in case you are not familiar with it Arlington is the smallest self-governing county in the united states and it is among the most densely populated It has an estimated population of more than 238,000 residents within just 26 square miles Arlington is the closest locality in virginia to the nation's capital And historically was known as alexandria county of the district of columbia until it was renamed arlington in 1920 Much of arlington's history is 20th century history This fact really helps define both the architectural fabric and cultural heritage that we celebrate today Arlington's built environment was shaped by its transformation from a rural agricultural area To a bustling commuter suburb with distinctly urban neighborhood villages clustered along its main transportation routes From the 1920s to the 1950s arlington experienced a population boom spurred by the rapid expansion of the federal workforce in the nation's capital There was a critical need for affordable plentiful housing for government workers With the creation of the federal housing administration or fha in 1934 Various programs helped finance military housing and homes for returning veterans and their families after world war two Arlington's proximity to washington dc and the planners and designers at the fha Allowed the county to become a testing ground for these new planning ideas and architectural prototypes Thus the garden apartment as a building type was born here in arlington First with colonial village a garden apartment complex built in 1934 And then followed by other examples such as buckingham courthouse manor and dozens of others In fact by the mid 20th century arlington boasted about 174 garden apartments and complexes Pictured here is maywood, which is an early 20th century streetcar suburb of single family homes That is both a protected local historic district in arlington and listed in the national register Also pictured is the barcrop departments a quintessential example of one of arlington's largest garden apartment complexes That dates to the 1940s and 50s But arlington county is defined by more than just its garden apartments and its architecture Due to our location in the county's department of community planning housing and development The preservation program is an active participant in many of arlington's major planning initiatives countywide In our work, we serve not only as advocates for historic resources But we also identify and research both people and places We educate the public about local history and cultural heritage As well as help manage changes in historic areas with the county's appointed historic preservation commission Currently our program helps steward 41 local historic districts 73 listings in the national register which equates to more than 12 000 contributing historic buildings 12 preservation easements and more than 100 historic markers Our preservation program is always seeking to diversify our listings and ensure that our preserved cultural landscape is equitable And representative of the various communities found throughout arlington There are several protected historic properties associated with historic african-american history, for example Including dorthy ham middle school pictured here and originally known as strattford junior high school This building has local state and national significance as the first public school in the commonwealth of virginia To desegregate on february 2nd 1959 But despite the variety of historic resources that our program helps oversee to date None of them are designated for their cultural value to local lgbtq plus history As briefly mentioned earlier These designated and are protected historic resources do not yet fully represent arlington's breadth of cultural identity and diversity Despite the county's rep reputation for being an exclusive For being an inclusive trailblazing and forward-thinking community To highlight this point as of 2019 54 000 arlingtonians were foreign-born and about 30 of households in arlington speak a language other than english at their home arlington's public school system includes students from 146 different countries with the most common country Countries of origin including el Salvador Guatemala, ethiopia honduras and mongolia with 107 different home languages spoken To help celebrate this diversity over the past decade Our preservation program has been making great strides to broaden our programmatic scope To emphasize a more inclusive sense of community identity As well as the importance of cultural heritage to understanding arlington's story We began by prioritizing cultural heritage projects Especially pertaining to both local african-american and vietnamese history Most recently we have expanded those documentation efforts to include lgbtq plus heritage And by prioritizing these efforts We are dedicated to telling a more inclusive narrative of our collective past While also providing an important act of repatriation to a community that has experienced disregard slander erasure or worse And the national park services publication lgbtq america a theme study of lesbian gay bisexual transgender and queer history Susan farantino's writes that studying cultural outsiders not only reveals insight into their experiences But also sheds light on the experiences of the mainstream and what behaviors are and are not considered normative in a particular historical era And according to the williams institutes lgbtq demographic data estimates. There are 250,000 excuse me 257,000 lgbtq individuals in virginia alone as of 2020 Which is approximately 3.9 percent of the state's population So how can we help ensure that the stories of these individuals are told? To work towards our goal of highlighting the stories of the lgbtq plus community in arlington Our staff began to identify potential sites in the county that merited future research Relying on information already collected by the state historic preservation office Which in virginia is the virginia department of historic resources or dhr We chose to collaborate with dhr on our documentation efforts given the commonwealth's ongoing lgbtq heritage initiative statewide In summary the goals of dhr's lgbtq heritage initiative include Engaging scholars preservationists and community members to identify research and tell the stories of lgbtq associated properties They encourage local governments tribes national parks heritage areas and other organizations to interpret their lgbtq stories They are working to identify and document lgbtq associated historic sites And they would like to increase the number of virginia listings of lgbtq associated properties in the national register of historic places To date dhr's work has been very broad and thematic And the state has been relying on individual localities to undertake detailed research and documentation Just a handful of jurisdictions in virginia Including richmond ron oak and the tide water region have begun to research their lgbtq plus heritage The fact that research had not yet gotten underway in northern virginia presented an opportunity dhr has been incredibly supportive of our documentation work here in arlington And we look forward to continued collaboration with them to eventually honor arlington sites in both the virginia landmarks register and the national register In november 2021 our preservation team partnered With arlington video group within the county government To produce a brief video featuring freddy's beach bar and restaurant freddy's which is located in the heart of the crystal city neighborhood near reagan national airport and the new amazon headquarters Is a focal point of arlington's lgbtq plus legacy To give you a sense of the importance of the story to our local and regional history We wanted to share that video with you now When people hear the phrase historic preservation, they likely think that it only involves old buildings Historically this has been true for the preservation field overall for decades nationwide efforts have mostly centered on preserving older buildings And preserving a primarily non-inclusive narrative But what about the preservation of less tangible cultural resources like stories traditions and community spaces? What about the buildings that are important for their ties to the community? Rather than for their architectural merit That's why we're here today at freddy's beach bar and restaurant One of the legacy businesses of arlington and the only lgbtq ia plus and straight friendly bar in the county freddy's is an integral part of the cultural heritage of arlington Join us to learn more about why preserving and recognizing spaces like freddy's matters I always say it's not done until it's over done And if you come in here at christmas, it looks like santa claus threw up in here We probably have the most diverse clientele of any bar i've ever seen in my life. I mean old young Black green transgender lesbians gay boys straight people kids It's really quite amazing and because of our proximity to the pentagon We have a very large gay military clientele Certain restaurants Build themselves as gay friendly. So I decided to bill us as straight friendly And some of my business cards say the only straight friendly lgbtq bar in north virginia. So I think it's it's nice that straight folks feel comfortable in here, too I think there's something about my art background and the Gay world colliding that just blew up in here The barbies one interviewer Asked me about and I said I've been collecting them since I was a little girl And he put that in the article which I thought was hilarious. It's not really a barbie But my absolute favorite is gay bob Gay bob comes in a closet. So when you open him up, he comes out of the closet It's pretty awesome adam sasso I think spent eight months with the company getting that doll made to absolute perfection The doll even talks It does the opening number for the drag show, which I do usually on saturday nights in here Sean was in charge of the largest battalion in the country at fort mayer And his spouse adam was a physician with the honor guard They were the first same-sex couple to lay a wreath at arlington cemetery and johnny and I got to witness that Eric fanning former army secretary under obama Kristen back. She's a former navy seal that transgendered Amanda simpson first-ever transgender presidential appointee in history obama appointed Amanda To the commerce department Gordon tanner former chief counsel for the air force All those people come in here on the occasion of the repeal of don't ask. Don't tell we were packed in here I they passed around two cocktail napkins and there must have been 30 signatures on there of former former generals Most of them women that were gay, but they weren't allowed to admit it So as somewhere I have those napkins saved. So that's the kind of military presence we have here I didn't realize it was going to be As big a deal as it really is. I mean, we're totally respected by uh Pretty much everybody the police the fire the county the state The governor flew a flag over us to commemorate our 20-year anniversary this year and Presented me with a proclamation amazon who seems to love freddy's reached out to me and they said We love freddy's and we'd like this was during covet We'd like to partner up with you to serve 10 000 meals to the first responders Which we did with the help of some of the local restaurants on the street I had I was here at a sundae brunch and This one for summaries always sticks out in my mind. There was a family with A five with three little redheaded kids and they were just adorable And the dad said to me the little one said I want to go to the rainbow place See that uh flag in that rainbow The box with the rainbow stars So tammy smith first ever out brigadier general in the army presented that to me on the stage here And she flew That flag on the occasion of the repeal of don't ask don't tell over boron airfield In my honor for providing a safe place for the folks from The pentagon to hang out at and When I stepped off the stage this boy came up to me very attractive boy and he said, you know, I met my partner here thank you so much and it's uh The three little redheaded kids and that That mean a lot Thank you for joining us today. I hope you learned something new about the importance of cultural heritage And how it helped tell a more inclusive story of arlington's history and character In addition to freddie's there are many other examples of restaurants throughout arlington that contribute to the cultural heritage And the diversity of the county Many can be found along columbia pike in clarendon in buckingham and in several other neighborhoods I hope you feel inspired to advocate for the local places people and stories that matter to you And that make arlington such a special place and maybe i'll even see you here at freddie's We hope that you enjoyed that glimpse into freddie's and can appreciate its cultural importance And so now let's bring our attention back to lily in july of 2021 buyer blender bell architects and planners approached our preservation program about partnering on a documentation project Related to arlington's lgbtq plus heritage We were eager to collaborate and decided to embark on a pilot project together To study the history and significance of an arlington specific site So now i will turn the presentation presentation over to katie Thank you, sythia My firm buyer blender bell and i personally have been incredibly grateful for the experience and opportunity to work with sythia and her team And participate in this documentation effort with arlington county It's been so incredibly interesting and rewarding to learn about the lgbtq history and the community through this project After some initial conversations With arlington county and with the virginia shippo We enthusiastically started our research to identify lgbtq plus sites that would be good candidates for a more detailed research study Our first step was to familiarize ourselves with the existing online resources Especially several of the historic context statements that have been recently published Which provide excellent understanding of lgbtq history themes They discuss historical constructs of gender and sexuality and consider preservation specific topics in 2019 The dc historic preservation office released their context context statement for dc's lgbtq resources Due to the proximity of dc and arlington many aspects of the dc context statement can be applied to northern virginia dc was the regional epicenter of the lgbtq plus community and many of arlington's residents likely socialized at the various lgbtq friendly establishments in the city That said we cannot rely on the dc context statement fully and are still dedicated to learning about the lgbtq plus experience That is specific to arlington county Preservation maryland and the maryland historic trust also published a historic context study In 2020 which provided some very helpful guidance and reiterated some of the challenges to be aware of when approaching lgbtq plus history and preservation For example changing historic constructs of gender and sexuality Mean that people in the past understood their identities and desires in ways that are entirely different from how we understand ours today This means that while we make glimps motivations actions and desires in the historical record that resonate with our contemporary understandings We will not find pre 20th century references that adhere precisely to our 21st century constructs explicit evidence of same-sex activity let alone transgender Or other lgbtq plus identities is extremely rare until the 20th century For so long the lgbtq community has been relegated to the fringes of society Meaning that they have largely Socialized and organized in secret which can make it difficult to find their stories and historical records Reliable archival material can be difficult to find and may require Researchers to look at existing collections with a renewed perspective and focus on finding these out-of-sight narratives In many cases collecting oral histories is critical to bringing the long undervalued and overlooked stories to light the national park services lgbtq heritage theme study that was released in 2016 is also an excellent resource It mentions many lgbtq Histories and places across the country and includes And includes an appendix that identifies all the locations that are mentioned in the text So it's a great place to start for anyone who wants to complete similar research Though virginia does not have a historic context statement of its own The shabo has assembled a variety of research materials available on this website That include an lgbtq timeline of history in virginia and the us A relevant laws and legal cases a list of lgbtq persons of virgin from virginia of note and a list of virginia places associated with lgbtq heritage Although this did not include any places from northern virginia, let alone barlington county several online resources Mapping resources and archives were also helpful in our initial research History pin dot org is a crowdsourced mapping website with a map Of lgbtq america, which pins a lot of the places that are mentioned in the historic context statements Um mapping the gay guides is a national endowment for the humanities funded project that maps listing listings from the damron address books that date from 1965 to 1980 started by businessman bob damron the address books list um A bars and public spaces that were friendly to gay men They were in effect similar to the green book used by afric americans while traveling during the jim pro era In 1965 only five locations in virginia were listed and none of them were in northern virginia However, there were 14 listings in washington dc Which reflects the social ties between those two locales In 1975 the wooded area of the ewojima memorial was the first location listed in marlington It was known as a cruising location for gay men looking for anonymous sex The guides used a code of letters and symbols to designate certain features of the listings D was used for dancing oc for an older crowd and b for blacks frequent Hot men sites that were dangerous and could be rated by police In 1978 the damron book explicitly warned against cruising at the ewojima memorial Stating that there were quote murders muggings and arrests the lord and quote We also found several online archival resources that include the rainbow history project and the GLBT historical society museum archives that's east in san francisco that provides a great online repository of information and collections The library of congress also has an informative reading guide that offers information on on their lgbtq plus related collections And is a good content then provides good contextual information as well So based on this initial research, we were able to identify a number of sites connected to individuals or events highlighting lgbtq plus history They included the residences of dr. Lily Incense a gay rights activist Carl and rizzi a well-known drag queen and jay fizette the first openly gay person elected to public office in virginia Freddy's as you've seen in the video was identified as a well-known gay bar in south arlington And there were also several properties that are already listed. However, their significance As currently reported is not derived from any connection to lgbtq history The pentagon and ewigimum memorials Were scenes of pickets and demonstrations against the treatment of homosexuals and the unitary Universalist church of arlington constructed in 1963 And which actively supported the lgbtq community since the 1970s But it was listed solely for its modernist architectural significance and its connection to architectural goodman and so from this list The residents of lgbtq incense stood out as an ideal candidate for further research Incense was referenced in the dc Contextual study which noted that she had hosted the gay women's open house at her home in arlington for an extended period of time A more detailed search revealed that she was a very important figure in the homophile movement in dc In the 1960s and 70s and had important ties to other gay rights organizations across the country In 2013 the library of congress acquired her collection of personal papers and other memorabilia Providing a wealth of archival Information that was readily available to us as we're based in dc Furthermore the columbia heights west neighborhood where her residence is located in arlington had been recorded in a virginia ship Oh architectural survey boards association with the development of sub-urban neighborhoods For the growing working and middle class communities in arlington following world war two Thus there were many interesting angles to approach the study and we were confident in the range of archival resources available And we felt that felt that the properties did a good chance of being national registered criteria And so we delved into researching lily incense the gay women's open house and the history of development Of the columbia heights west neighborhood lilies collection at the library of congress materials from the dc history center articles from the blade which was wash is washington dc's lgbtq newspaper um as well as materials from The arlington linens records and archival material Available through the arlington public library Were used in in our in our research We were also able to connect for a phone conversation with lilies friend. Bob Which it who had memories of attending the open house on On special friends nights On which men could attend Born in 1939 and raised in germany and in new jersey lily first recognized her attraction to women in her late teens In her early 20s. She struggled with depression and sought the help of a therapist in 1962 after dropping out of her english phd program at the university at columbia university She enlisted in the women's army corps as a neuropsychiatric technician This reflected her interest her growing interest in psychology As well as her desire to meet other gay women in the surface She was posted to the walter raid Army medical center in washington where she was introduced to the gay bar scene in dc Not long after in 1963 Vincennes was outed by her roommate and was honorably discharged lily wrote quote My reputation was sacrificed But a heavy burden of hypocrisy had dropped for me as well I decided to build another me no longer dependent on the approval of others Following her discharge from the army consents connected with the macha sheen society of washington Becoming a sparse lesbian member Originally founded in los angeles in in los angeles in 1950 The macha sheen society was a civil liberties and social action organization Dedicated to improving the social status of homosexuals It was part of the larger homophile movement throughout the united states And the washington chapter was founded in 1961 by frank camony and jack nickles vincennes Vincennes recalled that she had joined The macha sheen society of washington to quote be with gay people Help the movement help unmask the lies being told about us Correct the notion of homosexuality as a sickness and present it as it is a beautiful Way to love and quote In 1965 she joined the first pickets in dc Including those at the white house and at the pentagon to protest the u.s. government's treatment of homosexuals At this time. She was also editor of the ms w's magazine homosexual citizen Through her ties with ms w incenses met lesbian activists and life partners barbara giddings and k. Lausanne Both of whom were involved with the daughter's abilities the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the u.s Which was founded in 1955 in san francisco by several lesbian couples including delmar in and phyllis line In 1966 she was featured on the january cover of the daughter's abilities magazine the latter Which is a very public expression and a big deal that reflected her self-assuredness and gave positive pre Incense became an important spokesperson for the homophile movement Doing radio and television interviews to educate and familiarize the public with the gay community Refute commonly accepted fallacies about homosexuals and made make appeals for an end to prejudice and discrimination As a nascent but passionate filmmaker She was in philadelphia to capture the third reminder day picket and in new york city For the first christopher street liberation day parade in 1970 Which was organized to commemorate the first anniversary of the stone wall riots And served as new york city's first pride march These films are also part of the library of congress collection and are available to watch online, which i highly recommend In 1971 frank camony who had founded the magician society of washington's msw Entered the race for dc's non-voting congressional delegate and vincennes helped with the campaign Though camony finished forth it was a watershed moment and changed the perception of and political presence of the lgbt community in washington dc Following the election there were many calls from women To the msw wanting to meet others and lilies was the only number available to give out She quickly realized there was a need for a place where gay bisexual and women questioning their sexuality Could meet in a comfortable and reassuring space Thus lilies vincennes started the gay women's open house and stopped and stepped away from her involvement in the magician society While hosting the weekly open house. She began studying for a master's degree in psychology Graduating in 1976 from george mason and began her private practice in psychotherapy working mostly with lgbtq individuals and groups One of the most significant efforts of the magician society was to publicly refute the american psychiatric Association's designation of homosexuality as a mental disorder In 1971 vincennes participated in a panel discussion at the apas annual meeting Such panels eventually led the apa to remove this designation in 1973 During the 1980s she and her life partner nancy ruth davis Set up a counseling group for people with AIDS at the whitman walker clinic in dc In 1990 she earned her phd in human development and psychology from the university of naryland Continuing her work as a psychotherapist and in 1992 She and nancy established the community of self development that hosted conferences and workshops Dedicated to the creative spiritual and psychological fulfillment of gay women and men Over the past two decades Dr. Vincennes has been well recognized for her activism and contributions to the lgbtq community In 2009 she was honored as a superhero at capitol pride and in 2019 Dr. Vincennes was inducted into the association of lgbtq journalists hallowed fame in recognition of her pathbreaking journalism and video journalism And gay rights activism during the 60s and 70s Vincennes has been a long time resident of arlington county and still lives in the region Dr. Vincennes's dedication to the lgbtq community was manifested in many ways However, one of her most significant contributions that was faced in arlington was the gay women's open house Vincennes moved to arlington in 1969 Renting a duplex in the colombia heights west neighborhood that was developed in 1950 On moving she recounted quote I moved out of dc because rents were too high and because I absolutely needed a house with a yard with trees in it end quote The open house began in march in 19 In march of 1971 and was held every wednesday as an alternative social environment to the gay bars in dc Vincennes said of the open house quote There is no agenda or discussion topic. The purpose is to provide companionship and the atmosphere is friendly not cruzy Some women who call have never dared to express their gay inclinations to anyone and are talking to a lesbian for the first time end quote Advertisements for the open house were placed in the silver times as well as the gay blade to the lgbtq Newspapers in dc at the time She also wrote to her friends and fellow activists to spread the word While most attendees were from the washington metro area many drove from baltimore and populous maryland from north of virginia west virginia and pennsylvania the vast majority of Open house attendees were white women in their 20s and 30s But on occasion uh, colivia carter a black gay activist Who co-founded the langston hues and elinor roosevelt democratic club would also attend Other times groups such as the puries and the washington feminists were also in attendance vincennes wrote quote Ideological differences don't seem to matter much in our group and sisterhood prevails Whether you are a lesbian under 21 or over 50 Whether you are a radical or reactionary a dropout or a professional a daughter or a mother Single or in a gay or straight marriage. You are welcome and invited to make yourself at home end quote The impact of the gay women's open house on the lives of hundreds of women is best captured In the personal stories as well as the letters and cards that incensed received over the years one reads Lily, I wish I had known a place like yours your open house 15 years ago when I first became aware of my gay feelings Back then I didn't have the courage more than knowledge of what to do with them I admire you lily more than anyone I know I admire you because you're so natural about being gay because you dare to be free and open to be who you are and The last open house at lilies was hosted um on january 31st 1979 This was a personal dedication to stop or personal decision to stop hosting But also reflected the greater number of social alternatives that existed for women than at the by that time However, the open house format inspired other similar gatherings The dc now sexuality task force held open houses on tuesday evenings at the arlington unitarian church for a period of time and from 1980 to 1993 they gave women's alternative Which initially started in new york inspired by lilies open house and eventually came to dc Provided another relaxed non-threatening atmosphere at the washington ethical society in dc impacting still hundreds more women and continuing the legacy of lilies open house And so based on our research and findings and with the knowledge of the gay rights movement through the noted content statements We determined that lilies arlington residents meets national register criteria a and b It is a site that is associated with a pattern of events that gave women's open house Which made a significant contribution to the development of a lesbian community in arlington and the wider dc area It also is associated with dr. Lillian fence who is significant within the national homophile movement of the 60s and 70s Furthermore, the property is directly representative of her historic contributions The property retains integrity though aspects related to its design have Been impacted to a certain degree by recent alterations as you can see In my background, which is an image of the residents The sight sighting has been added to the original concrete masonry walls and the windows have also been replaced But it does maintain a large expression of its original design And aspects of location setting and association remain strong As preservationists in the united states the national register Criteria remains the foremost framework used to assess significance of heritage sites Listing on the national register has many benefits including national recognition the eligibility for historic tax credits and Consideration and federal projects through the section 106 process Increasing the number of lgbtq plus properties included on the national register Is an important goal and the register should be used as a tool to ensure such stories are represented As part of our national historic narrative However, there are inherent limitations of using the national register to recognize lgbtq plus stories The national register is a place-based preservation framework that favors longevity of permanent physical imprints Qualities that are not always possible considering the ephemeral and underground nature of many places and events tied to lgbtq plus stories Requirements for integrity pose another limitation, especially those relating to design materials and workmanship Qualities that are unlikely to be retained at sites associated with marginalized And underrepresented communities that frequently experience gentrification removal and redevelopment Additionally, these qualities while important for properties of architectural significance may not be as relevant to properties nominated for their Significance to cultural heritage and his and social history There are many instances where social and cultural significance is spread across multiple locations Annie's caramel steakhouse in washington dc is an interesting example of a property that has been recently listed in the dc inventory And has been nominated to the national register It is significant as one of the earliest lgbtq friendly establishments in the district The two different locations of the restaurant over time Meant that the nomination covers two non-contiguous properties under a single landmark nomination However, this didn't impact things And the washington blade dc's current lgbtq Newspaper said it best quote the paramount has become an institution in the gay community There was never much concern about history being left behind when the paramount moved to its new place It's people who make history and quote In our research, we have to be aware that in many cases Places of importance to the lgbtq plus community may already be listed However, their connections to those histories has not been realized or has been overlooked and or admitted in Arlington, there were several properties where this was the case for For listed properties that are recognized for their architectural Or other historic significance It is important to broaden the documented narratives to include lgbtq plus stories Historic districts are traditionally recognized for architectural significance And or historical association with the development of a certain locality And they're prone to ignore social histories I believe it's still the case that to date No historic district is recognized for its social significance to the lgbtq btq plus community Many existing districts including Greenwich village and other so-called gay birtheds in cities across the us Have long been recognized for their significant connections to the development of lgbtq plus communities Yet this isn't yet reflected in their national registered documentation There are also many instances of individual property nominations associated with important individuals That emit reference to their sexual or sexual or gender non-conformity Now that these topics are more commonly discussed It is important that we revisit and reflect on the existing narratives and embrace the full complexity and histories of the people Who are recognized at those historic sites William Murtaugh was the first keeper of the national register of historic places And he wrote quote at its best preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present Over a mutual connection for the future And which I think is a beautiful statement and especially important to consider So in looking to research and recognize lgbtq plus history A good starting point may be to revisit already listed properties with a renewed perspective We'd like to end with some final points on research and lessons learned and discuss some of our next steps As arlington continues to research and recognize the lgbtq plus history in the county Firstly, we found it very helpful to start our process with conversations with the shippo To understand common goals to discuss existing resources And just be made aware of other localities groups and individuals with similar initiatives There is an ever-growing number of books content statements articles feces online videos recorded panel discussions podcasts Etc etc Discussing lgbtq plus history and preservation While we mostly relied on the content statements previously discussed Other archival material and other Archival materials. We also wanted to acknowledge Some additional resources that we used including the dismantled preservation panel discussion That's entitled queering preservation multidisciplinary approaches to telling lgbtq stories Which is available on youtube And the national trust trusts online leadership forum page entitled preservation and inclusion Which offers a lot of articles on interpretation and storytelling community engagement and social justice that we will continue to read in reference As we continue with our projects in lgbtq There's so much inspiring and thought-provoking work that's being done And it's really exciting to be a part of that A major component of our project that is still forthcoming Will involve engagement with the local lgbtq plus community to ask them to share their stories and experiences Recognizing the personal and intimate nature of the information and stories. We are seeking It is paramount that we are sensitive patient Open and honest working to build trust while emphasizing that these stories matter While combing through information in existing archives and online is a great place to start and often leads to further investigation So much of lgbtq plus heritage relies on collecting oral histories and personal stories targeted outreach to prominent groups and members of the community who are trusted And who can offer advice and support will be very important in this next step Another aspect for us to be aware of is intersectionality Recognizing that there is not just one universal lgbtq community or experience Our future outreach and interpretation must consider the racial gender class and generational diversity Amongst different lgbtq identities It is important to be aware to be aware of unconsciously favoring gay and lesbian stories, for example Whereas bisexual and transgender stories may be more difficult to find We likewise encourage that documentation projects present all historical evidence Rather than shying away from uncertainty even where ambiguity may be present Also understanding that ideas about sexuality and gender have changed over time as have prejudices against lgbtq identities It is necessary to be sensitive to the vocabulary that is being used and then to make explanations and clarifications where appropriate Looking ahead Arlington will continue to examine its listed and documented historic sites through a lens of diversity This will allow us to build on the traditional known narratives by considering and incorporating lgbtq plus experiences and history While there is indeed value to documenting and interpreting sites in traditional ways such as through national register nominations and historical highway markers We also encourage the exploration of other creative and impactful ways to tell cultural stories We see the benefits of producing more cultural spotlight videos like the one for freddie's beach bar that we've shared with you And other digital tools such as memory mapping where community members are encouraged to tell stories about particular places Even if those places no longer exist physically But this allows memories to be read and interpreted topographically thereby creating new potential digital spaces For lgbtq plus stories and social histories to be recorded A great example of this is the glbt historical societies virtual tour Of the home of lesbian activists del martin and phyllis lyon in san francisco Their house was digitally documented and then interwoven with the narrative of their lives their activism and the use of the space So in conclusion, thank you so much for listening to our presentation We hope you have learned some helpful research resources and techniques And that you will consider some of the preservation challenges and opportunities for recognizing lgbtq plus heritage We hope that you now feel inspired to delve into lgbtq plus history and preservation efforts in your own communities We think you'll be amazed at what you discover We've certainly been inspired by dr. Lily vincennes and the work of so many others across the country We are excited to continue to learn about preserve and celebrate lgbtq plus stories in history. Thank you