In 1973, the second floor of this building housed a gay bar called the Up Stairs Lounge.
On Sunday evening, June 24, 1973, an arsonist set the gay bar on fire killing 32 people and injuring still more. Until the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, this was the deadliest crime against gays and lesbians in the history of the United States.
On that fateful evening, Rodger Dale Nunez, was thrown out of the bar for badgering and fighting with a regular customer. As he was being escorted out of the bar, Nunez threatened to “burn you all out.” Shortly after, roaring flames came up through the stairwell. As the fire spread, panic ensued. The bartender led about twenty people through a poorly marked rear fire exit. Many dashed for the windows, but burglar bars trapped them inside and few were able to escape.
Public reaction to the fire was deeply homophobic. Radio commentators joked the ashes of the victims should be buried in fruit jars. Although this was the deadliest fire in New Orleans history, the mayor and other public officials made no public comments. The Roman Catholic Archbishop forbade Catholic burial services for the victims and other mainline churches initially refused to allow their facilities to be used for a memorial service. Eventually the local Unitarian Church and St. George’s Episcopal Church hosted small memorial services before St. Mark’s Methodist Church in the French Quarter allowed a larger service, which was attended by roughly 250 people.
The arsonist, who drunkenly confessed to acquaintances on multiple occasions that he started the fire, was never arrested and ultimately committed suicide about a year and a half after the incident. The names of the victims of the fire are listed on a sidewalk plaque in front of the stairwell. (Courtesy of Frank Perez)
Nearby Site of Interest
The Audubon Nature Institute Insectarium
423 Canal St. New Orleans 70130
(504) 524-2847
AudubonNatureInstitute.org/Insectarium
Open Monday through Sunday, 10 A.M.-5 P.M.
To Learn More
Clayton Delery-Edwards, The Up Stairs Lounge Arson 32 Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar June 24, 1973. (McFarland & Co., 2014).