Representing The Victims Of The Up Stairs Lounge Fire

On June 24, 1973, an arson attack at the Up Stairs Lounge, a gay bar in the French Quarter, claimed 32 lives in what was then the largest mass killing of LGBTQ people in U.S. history. In a time of anti-gay stigma, the tragedy was mostly ignored or mocked by the media and elected officials. After the fire, New Orleans trial attorney, Vincent Glorioso Jr., represented victims and family members seeking some measure of justice. The Historic New Orleans Collection interviewed Glorioso for their series, NOLA Life Stories.