Ann Arbor District Library's LGBTQ+ Walking Tour
The Ann Arbor District Library’s LGBTQ+ Walking Tour documents historical locations important to the queer community, pulling from interviews with community members in podcasts like AADL’S Gayest Generation, LGBTQ+ Washtenaw oral histories, and other archival collections. We heard from community members about their favorite hangouts over the decades, including bars, bookstores, and sites of political advancement for LGBTQ+ rights. This tour walks you through important locations, some of which have changed over the years and may no longer exist.
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LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Maggie Hostetler
Maggie Hostetler was born in 1944 in Bay City, Michigan, where she grew up with four siblings. As a young adult, she worked for her parents’ newspaper, the Fremont Times-Indicator. She moved to Ann Arbor in the late 1960s to complete her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan, and she went on to become a social worker and a technical writer. She recalls that being an activist for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1970s was primarily about coming out to friends and family and creating community. She was a founding member of A Woman's Bookstore and a contributor to The Leaping Lesbian magazine. She and her partner Lorri Sipes have been together for 43 years, and married for 10 years. They enjoy many shared activities including gardening, golfing, and hosting dinner parties.
Sign Posted on the Door of A Woman's Bookstore, 1977
Year:
1977
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Media
LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Lynden Kelly
Lynden Kelly, who goes by Kelly (she/her), was born in 1954 in suburban Detroit. In 1972, she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. She became involved in countercultural organizations and collectives such as the Ann Arbor Tenants Union and the People’s Wherehouse, a wholesale warehouse for the Michigan Federation of Food Co-ops. She recalls visiting LGBTQ+ spaces in Ann Arbor and beyond, including the U-M Gay Advocates’ Office (now called the Spectrum Center), Canterbury House, the Rubaiyat, and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. From 1990 to 2003, she and business partner Kate Burkhardt ran Common Language Bookstore, which catered to feminist and LGBTQ+ readers, on Fourth Avenue. Kelly also discusses gender roles, coming out to her parents, marriage equality, and co-founding Ann Arbor Queer Aquatics (A2QUA), a queer swimming group.
City tells bookstore to close
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