DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and this one's worth every mile to hear. We're talking about a corner in Dallas that carried a whole community on its shoulders, and it did it quietly, stubbornly, and with considerable style. The intersection of Throckmorton Street and Cedar Springs Road.
Known as The Gay Crossroads. Known as The Crossroads. And if you think Dallas — conservative, buttoned-up Dallas — was late to this story, the marker's about to set you straight.
So to speak. Now, Dallas had a reputation as one of the state's more conservative cities. That reputation wasn't exactly a secret.
But reputation and reality have a way of diverging when people need a place to belong. In 1947 — nineteen forty-seven, folks, when most of America was still pretending certain people didn't exist — Dallas became home to one of the first gay bars in Texas. Club Reno.
That alone deserves a moment of silence and maybe a slow nod of respect. Then, in 1972, Dallas hosted the first Gay Pride Parade in all of Texas. First.
In the whole state. In 1980, that parade moved from downtown to Cedar Springs Road, planting its flag right there at The Crossroads, where it belonged. The story of how this particular corner became the center goes back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when The Crossroads was pulling in the city's counterculture movements like a moth to a porch light.
There was a Bohemian image to the place. Picturesque architecture. Something about it said come on, you're welcome here.
Gays and Lesbians moved into the neighborhood, drawn by exactly that feeling. Gay-owned businesses followed. Bars followed.
And by the end of the 1970s, the majority of businesses in the area catered to the LGBTQ community. A whole world, built block by block, handshake by handshake. Then came the 1980s, and with them the onslaught of the AIDS crisis.
Now here is where the story asks something more of you as a listener. The Crossroads did not flinch. It expanded.
What had been an entertainment district became something harder and more necessary — a center for political activism, for social services, for medical testing. People were scared, people were sick, and people were dying, and The Crossroads held the line. It organized.
It showed up. It kept the lights on. Today, The Crossroads remains the location of the oldest gay businesses in Dallas.
It remains the primary gathering point for LGBTQ political and social events, including the Alan Ross Freedom Parade. It continues to serve the neighborhood and the city as a symbol of social, economic, and political action. A corner.
Two street names — Throckmorton and Cedar Springs. And more history than most cities manage in a lifetime. That's The Crossroads, Dallas.
And that, friend, is a place that earned its name.
What the marker says
Despite Dallas's reputation as one of the state's more conservative cities, its LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community was among the first in Texas to organize politically and socially. In 1947, the city became home to one of the first gay bars in Texas, Club Reno, and in 1972 was the site of the first Gay Pride Parade in Texas. In 1980, the Pride Parade moved from downtown to Cedar Springs Road. The area surrounding the intersection of Throckmorton Street and Cedar Springs Road has been considered the center of the Dallas LGBTQ community since the early 1970s and is known as "The Gay Crossroads" or "The Crossroads." In the late 1960s and early 1970s, The Crossroads was a magnet for the city's counterculture movements. Gays and Lesbians began moving to the area, drawn to its Bohemian image and picturesque architecture. More gay-owned businesses and bars followed, and by the end of the 1970s, the majority of businesses in the area catered to the LGBTQ community. With the onslaught of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, The Crossroads became not only an entertainment district, but also a center for political activism, social services and medical testing. As the historic heart of the LGBTQ community of Dallas, The Crossroads remains the location of the oldest gay businesses in the city and as the primary gathering point for LGBTQ political and social events, including the Alan Ross Freedom Parade. The Crossroads continues to serve the neighborhood and the city of Dallas as a symbol of social, economic and political action among the LGBTQ community. (2017)