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Much of the story of pre-WWII Philadelphia queer history still needs to be researched and written. (Yes, I’m working on it!)įor the answer to our second question, though, we’ll probably have to look in the heart of the modern Gayborhood on quiet, tree-lined Camac Street. Many of the tiny two story houses on Camac Street date from the early 19th century, when the narrow thoroughfare was called Dean Street. Its intimate scale and old fashioned feeling gave it a special appeal to the many literary, advertising and art clubs that made the street their home in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1915, the Stragglers’ Club, the Poor Richard Club, the Franklin Inn, the Sketch Club and the Plastic Club had all settled there, (see the sketch by Frank Taylor, left). Soon the “Little Street of Clubs,” as it was called, had the reputation of being Philadelphia’s own bohemian district. During the 1920s, under national Prohibition, in addition to the clubs, Camac Street was home to odd little restaurants, quaint tea rooms and of course, speakeasies.įrom 1920, when it took effect, until 1932, when it was repealed, Philadelphia pretty much dealt with Prohibition by ignoring it. Some estimated that there were over 12,000 speakeasies in the city. Whenever I’m asked if there is a place I could point out that was a former Philadelphia speakeasy, I always say it would be harder to find a place in the city that wasn’t one.