Did you know that the most famous male impersonator of the 19th century was a Brooklyn resident named Ella Wesner? Or that Brooklyn Heights had nearly a 100 year history as a gay neighborhood, Brooklyn's answer to the West Village? Or that German spies may have attempted to get secrets from American servicemen via a gay Brooklyn brothel during WWII?

I'll be talking about all of this and more at 6pm on Thursday, June 8th, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, as I discuss the research that underlies my forthcoming book (When Brooklyn Was Queer, Fall 2018, St. Martin's Press) and exhibition at BHS on Brooklyn's queer history.

To RSVP, click here. Full event information below.

From the 1800s until post-WWII's industrial decline, Brooklyn's waterfront was a refuge for working class queer people. Journalist Hugh Ryan, founder of the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, pulls back the curtain to tell this history, from the military factories that gave lesbians (and all women) economic freedom, to the transgender presence at Coney Island freak shows.

The Queer Histories of Brooklyn's Working Waterfront
Thursday, June 8
Doors: 6:00 pm
Event: 6:30 pm
$5 / Free for Members

BHS Members: to reserve tickets at the member price, click on "Tickets" and enter your Member ID on the following page after clicking on "Enter Promotional Code."

REFUND POLICY Brooklyn Historical Society requires 24 hours notice before the date of the event to refund a ticket. No refunds are provided after that point. No refunds are provided on the day of the event and all subsequent days.