109 results for: LGBTQIA
Yellow hat designed by John Eaton, 1960s
This hat has a dramatic flourish of yellow tulle. Cornish School of Arts graduate John Eaton (1914-1991) was a successful milliner, designer, and teacher whose individually-styled hats became known all over the country. Eaton and partner James Neher opened their first store in 1950, and eventually opened “John Eaton Of Course!” at 509 Pine Street, across the street from Frederick…
ID Number:1965.3785.M423
Date:1960-1969
Pair of two-tone wing tip shoes, 1970s
This pair of dressy two-toned loafers were purchased at a Florsheim Shoes store in Seattle in the 1970s. The owner, Mark Dempsey, was a theater actor who grew up in Seattle in the mid- to late-20th century.
ID Number:1980.7083.3
Date:1970-1979
American flag vest worn by Mark Dempsey, ca. 1970
This vest belonged to actor and performer Mark Dempsey. Dempsey (1936-1994) was born in Los Angeles and came to Seattle in 1951 with his mother, performer Bessie Hall Dempsey. He attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington's School of Drama. He lived in New York City from the early 1960s until his return to Seattle in 1982.…
ID Number:1982.172.8C2617
Date:Circa 1970
Tambourine used by Mark Dempsey, ca. 1975
Actor and performer Mark Dempsey (1936-1994) was born in Los Angeles and came to Seattle in 1951 with his mother, performer Bessie Hall Dempsey. He attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington's School of Drama. He lived in New York City from the early 1960s until his return to Seattle in 1982. This tambourine is marked with…
ID Number:1993.41.46
Date:Circa 1975
Tin "Marlboro Man" sign featuring Mark Dempsey, ca. 1980s
Seattle actor and performer Mark Dempsey was the model for this Marlboro cigarette advertising campaign in the 1980s. The “Marlboro Man” campaigns associated the cigarettes with “tough guy” figures like cowboys. Dempsey (1936-1994) was born in Los Angeles and came to Seattle in 1951 with his mother, performer Bessie Hall Dempsey. He attended Queen Anne High School and the University…
ID Number:1993.41.49
Date:Circa 1985
Charcoal drawing on cardboard of Mark Dempsey, 1954
Actor and performer Mark Dempsey (1936-1994) was born in Los Angeles and came to Seattle in 1951 with his mother Bessie Hall Dempsey. He attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington's School of Drama. Mark was about 18 at the time this portrait was drawn, and the artist signature is R.B. Smith. In the late 1960s, Mark…
ID Number:1993.41.50
Date:1954
Neon Sign for Six Eleven Tavern, 1962
For many years in the mid-20th century, the only public place gay people could gather and feel relatively safe from discrimination and harrassment, were gay bars. Bars became a safe second home for them and others like them. This sign hung outside of the Six Eleven Tavern located at 611 2nd Ave in Pioneer Square, the center of gay life…
ID Number:2000.41.1
Date:1962
Wooden sign from Shelly's Leg Tavern, 1975
Famous for the bold sign announcing its identity, Seattle’s first disco opened in December 1973 at the foot of Main Street. Co-owner Shelly Bauman, a colorful figure, named the bar for the leg she lost to a cannon that misfired in a Pioneer Square parade. Money from the lawsuit helped her start the bar. "I wanted a place where everyone…
ID Number:2001.66.1
Date:1975
Painting by Don Paulson, "Construction of the Columbia Tower," ca. 1985
Don Paulson (1933-2006) was an author, artist, and chronicler of Seattle drag culture. He was born in Seattle and grew up in Auburn and Enumclaw. Paulson was drafted into the U.S. Army at 19 and served for two years during the Koren War. In the early 1960s he went to New York and immersed himself in the Pop Art scene.…
ID Number:2003.16.1
Date:Circa 1985
T-shirt from Seattle's first AIDS walk, 1987
Seattle has hosted the annual AIDS Walk for over thrity years. Historically, these walks were held to honor lives lost by the disease and the participants walked in hope for a cure. Thankfully, HIV is no longer a death sentence, and funds raised by the annual walks continue to support HIV prevention and care services for people living with or…
ID Number:2005.7.1
Date:1987