{"id":363985,"date":"2026-06-17T07:50:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/363985\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T07:50:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:50:28","slug":"this-historical-l-a-bar-is-californias-first-lgbtq-landmark-and-the-site-of-a-civil-rights-revolution-years-before-stonewall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/363985\/","title":{"rendered":"This historical L.A. bar is California’s first LGBTQ+ landmark \u2014 and the site of a civil rights revolution years before Stonewall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto credit: @theblackcatla via Instagram; Secret Los Angeles; ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u2013\u00a0
\n\t\t\t\tStaff Writer Intern\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0
\n\t\t\tJune 16, 2026<\/p>\n

The Black Cat in Silver Lake stands as California\u2019s<\/a> first recognized LGBTQ+ landmark, preserving the site of one of the country\u2019s earliest documented, organized demonstrations for gay rights. Operating in the same location for nearly 60 years, the tavern holds a unique place<\/a> in local civil rights history<\/a>. <\/p>\n

According to co-owner Lindsay Kennedy, only about five photographs exist of the original protests outside the building. Because same-sex relations were illegal at the time, participants documenting the demonstration faced significant risks.<\/p>\n

During the era of the early civil rights demonstrations, Silverlake was home to a handful of LGBTQ+ <\/a>bars. Kennedy noted that \u201cany bar that had both a color and an animal in it was an indication to the community that that was a safe space for them to be\u201d. Today, the bar\u2019s original sign \u2014 a rectangle topped with the cat face inside a circle \u2014 still hangs over Sunset Boulevard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Black Cat\u2019s Protected Historic Status<\/p>\n

In 2008, the site was officially designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument<\/a> (No. 939) for its vital role in history. In 2022, the State of California further cemented its status by naming it a California Historical Landmark. Currently, it is the only state landmark in California dedicated specifically to recognizing LGBTQ+ history, and also the site of the first LGBTQ+ civil rights demonstration in the nation. Thanks to these protections, the building\u2019s exterior remains preserved, ensuring that the site continues to serve as a beacon for the neighborhood. <\/p>\n

The Black Cat remains an active part of the neighborhood: the establishment hosts its own Pride event<\/a> annually on June 28 and regularly partners with other organizations for local community gatherings.<\/p>\n

So, the next time you grab a drink at The Black Cat, know you\u2019re stepping into a defining chapter of L.A. history.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd3909 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd56Monday \u2013 Friday: 4:00 PM \u2013 2:00 AM. Saturday & Sunday: 2:00 PM \u2013 2:00 AM<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf10The Black Cat L.A.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo credit: @theblackcatla via Instagram; Secret Los Angeles; ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 Staff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49,128256],"class_list":["post-363985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-videoarticle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}