Fayetteville Female Seminary

Fayetteville Female Seminary

Fayetteville Female Seminary

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

Opened: 1841

Closed: 1862

Though the Fayetteville Female Seminary may not have been progressive in every way, it appears that Miss Sophia Sawyer was very principled when it came to equal opportunity for her students.  From the Fayetteville, Arkansas site:



Sophia Sawyer (1792-1854)

It [the Fayetteville Female Seminary] was founded by Miss Sophia Sawyer, a missionary teacher who had worked with the Cherokees in Georgia and then in the Indian Territory that would one day become Oklahoma. A private tutor for the Ridge family, she first came with them to Missouri and the Indian Territory, and then after John Ridge was killed, she came here with John's widow, Sarah.

David and Jane Walker gave the land for Miss Sawyer to open her new school. Miss Sawyer was very religious and apparently quite the taskmaster, but she adamantly insisted on teaching young girls regardless if they were white or Cherokee and by 1854 there were 103 students.

She was once confronted by the Georgia militia for teaching African-American slave children of the Cherokees to read. She told them in no uncertain terms to go away, saying she was not subject to Georgia law since she was in Indian Territory and that the Cherokees were too civilized to have such a law.

The school catered to young ladies of distinguished families from all over the region, and offered classes in music, literature, French, and embroidery. The seminary was one of the most influential institutions in early Arkansas, and is often mentioned as one of the factors leading to the location of the state's land-grant university, the University of Arkansas. One of the music teachers was Ferdinand Zellner, a Prussian violinist with P.T. Barnum's nationwide tour of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind. In 1856 he composed and published "The Fayetteville Polka", and later went on to conduct the San Francisco Symphony.

In spite of their best efforts to save them, the school buildings were also burned in the Civil War and the school never recovered.

See more about the life of Sophia Sawyer here.

Durand's Restaurant Ladies' Cafe

Union Station - Atlanta (built 1871)

Durand's Restaurant Ladies' Cafe

Location: Union Station, on what is now Wall Street between Pryor Street and Central Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened: August 1895

Closed: Probably by 1930 at the latest, when the new Union Station was constructed at Forsyth and Spring Streets

Back in late 19th-century Atlanta, Henry R. Durand (1855-1932) was the owner, president, and manager of the then-famous Durand's Restaurant at Union Station. But like nearly all eateries of this time period, Durand's was more or less reserved for the gents. Upper-class gents of course. And given that this was the southern United States under the reign of Jim Crow, specifically white upper-class gents. In fact, if you are interested, you can see a photo from Durand's all-dude birthday party from 1906, which I presume was taken at Durand's "main" Restaurant. 

But then in 1895, Durand decided to set up a second-floor cafe just for the ladies (and presumably their male escorts). As we have noted before, ladies cafes were nearly always shoehorned into marginalized commercial spaces like basements or second floors. From the Atlanta Constitution, August 4, 1895:

Atlanta Constitution (August 4, 1895)

A DELIGHTFUL LADIES' CAFE.

Mr. Henry Durand, the Restauranteur, Has Opened a Charming Place.

Never was there a more complete ladies' cafe opened in Atlanta than that which Mr. Henry Durand, the well known proprietor of the celebrated Durand's restaurant at the union passenger station, has just established in the second story of his delightful place.

Hitherto Mr. Durand has been somewhat handicapped to not have at hand sufficient space to meet the demands for an extensive department for the ladies at his restaurant, but by a recent deal he has been enabled to gain quite an addition in the scope of this department, and has just opened a ladies' cafe that will prove all sufficient to the trade and a credit to Atlanta.

In fulfillment of the artistic design of loveliness and countless attractions embraced in the conception of this departure by the popular restaurateur, the ladies' cafe has been fitted up in the most beautiful fashion with all the elegant appointments common to the best restaurants of the time and decorated with beautiful palms and potted ferns which rustle and wave beneath the cooling breath of the silent fans overhead. It is one of the coolest of places, and even amid the frightful heat of midday it is a charming retreat from the blistering rays of the sun, and is irresistibly
tempting with all its stirring breezes, spotless linens, rustling palms and countless charms of culinary achievements.

The ladies' cafe at Durand's will certainly prove one of the successes of the day. It is kept fully up to the high standard of excellence that the restaurant has measured to in the past and is presided over by Miss Kate Pinckard, the most expert cashier in the city. Under her excellent guidance the department for the ladies at Durand's will be run fully up to date in every particular. Many vast improvements have been made lately in the main restaurant, too, and by the time the exposition opens Mr. Durand will be enabled to accommodate just three times as many people at the union passenger station restaurant as before.  The kitchen has been renovated and two large and capable ranges have been put into service. This department is presided over by skilled chefs, and their work is entirely satisfactory. Two large coffee urns furnish the best of French coffee made after the fashion of Mr. Durand's inimitable process. If Durand's is famous for any one thing more than for another it is for the coffee that is served there.

New refrigerators have been put in, and in point of fact the restaurant has been made new in every line.

This is one of the few times I have seen a woman's name connected with the running of a ladies' cafe. At first I was confused by all the fuss over a cashier. Than I realized that Miss Kate Pinckard really functioned as more of a general manager--a job I'm sure she never would have been allowed to have in the "main" (male) restaurant. And thought she may have functioned as a general manager, she was called a "cashier." And no doubt paid as one. 

Sports Page



2069 Cheshire Bridge Road today

Sports Page

Location: 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened/Closed: 1970s - 1980s

In her memoir, Matty McEire conjures up a wonderful story about her first trip from Asheville, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia and the Sports Page. I'm guessing this was around 1976 or so:

None of us knew our way around Atlanta at all, but for some reason, I always had an uncanny sense of navigation, so I was able to get us to all our destinations with minimal backtracking or sudden u-turns. We knew that the bar was on Cheshire Bridge Road, so I got off at that exit. We checked into the cheapest hotel we could find right next to the interstate. It had taken us four hours to get to Atlanta, so it was prime bar time when we arrived--eleven p.m. We freshened up a bit and put on our best lesbian bar clothes. Since summer had arrived, the flannel shirts, jeans, and boots of winter had been replaced by overall shorts, t-shirts, and sneakers, preferably Adidas.

The bar was easy to find. The Sports Page had a big sign with its name on it right out front, a gigantic but rapidly filling parking lot, and a very visible front door. This was a far cry from our obscure, back-alley After Dark. The mountain dykes had definitely hit the big city! It took us no time at all to find our way inside, order some beers, and secure a table for six. At first we all just sat there, open-mouthed I'm sure, taking it all in. A few men were there with their lesbian friends, but we were definitely in a lesbian bar--lesbian bartenders, lesbian DJ, lesbian bouncer, and lots and lots of lesbians everywhere you looked. No drag queens on the dance floor--just dykes! It took us a little while to get acclimated. It felt like we had just landed on another planet somewhere in a distant matrilinear galaxy. I was yanked out of my stupor when the DJ cranked up the volume on the Sylvers' "Boogie Fever" and Red Clover grabbed my hand and boogied us right out into the middle of the dance floor. The others followed, and that's where we spent most of the next few hours. We danced until closing time. I really had to laugh when we went out to the parking lot, and there sat the Asheville Y van, one of the only vehicles left in the lot--just a little conspicuous. I hoped no one else from Asheville happened to be on Cheshire Bridge Road that night.

Apart from the good times, the Sports Page played a prominent role in gay/lesbian history, specifically in the struggle against AIDS. As David Roman explains,

In Atlanta, one of the city's most successful early fundraisers was the June 20, 1983, lesbian-organized Sportspage benefit. Sportspage, the oldest lesbian bar in Atlanta, held a seven-hour entertainment marathon, with no "star power" to speak of, and raised over $3,000 for AID Atlanta. This lesbian-sponsored production, held in support of gay men, was the earliest lesbian-produced benefit for AIDS in the country.

Sports Page Reunion (2011)

Hmm. It would be interesting to know the earliest gay men-produced benefit for a lesbian healthcare or social service cause. Or whether one has ever taken place....

On September 24, 2011, a Sports Page reunion was held at the Heretic, a gay men's bar that now occupies the Sports Page's former location. (What an irony that after Sports Page did so much for the gay men's community, that their space was ultimately taken over by yet another gay men's bar.) This was apparently the second reunion that had been held for Sports Page's loyal patrons.

Postscript Feb. 21, 2012: Last weekend, my girlfriend and I were visiting Atlanta and we happened to stop by this place. It was awful, and we were the only women there. We left as soon as we finished our drinks.

Tower Lounge

Tower Lounge staff (1988)

Tower Lounge

Address: Forrest Road, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened/Closed: 1970s - 1980s

Outhistory provides the following introduction to the Tower Lounge:

Now closed, one of the longest-surviving lesbians bars in the city was the Tower Lounge. In the 1980s, other bars for gay women included Arney's, Deana's One Mo' Time, Rose, Sportspage, and Toolulah's.

From the archives of the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA), we pick up this little factoid regarding the Tower Lounge:

Nov. 1983: First performance of the Jane Doe Band at the Tower Lounge

Which at least verifies that it was open as of November 1983.

We know that Red Dyke Theater, founded in 1974, used to perform at the Tower Lounge as well, though I don't find any dates listed.

Perhaps the most extensive narrative describing Tower Lounge appears in Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones, James Thomas Sears' history of the "Stonewall South." In a chapter on the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) Omega softball team, we learn the following:

Following a festive afternoon on the diamond, players with white pants turned Georgia-clay red and spectators with voices turned hoarse crowded into the Tower Lounge--an after work, blue-collar lesbian bar on Forrest Road. Located under a towering radio antenna, the bar had pool tables, occasional concerts, dancing, and quarter beers on Tuesday and Thursday nights. ALFA members mixed easily with the other customers. Some of these older women remembered years earlier when the lounge had been a restaurant, serving a clientele of lesbians and working-class heterosexual men. This was the kind of woman, observes Vicki, "who had been lesbian in the 1950s and '60s, who had come through the school of hard knocks of lesbian life. As I met this group of lesbian southerners, I was very drawn to all of them, feeling that each of them had a piece of history that helped me to understand the world I was entering."

Elizabeth Knowlton remembers well those evenings and weekend summer afternoons at the Tower: "We didn't have many public places. The Tower Lounge was really important to us. What we found out very soon in the women's movement was that if you had a critical mass, you changed the space. And, at ALFA, we did everything in a mass!"

And finally, in her memoirs Tina Peters shares these recollections of the Tower Lounge:

Most of the gay women I decided to get to know hung out at the Tower Lounge; a women's bar I began to frequent. Located in a purposefully chosen part of Atlanta, the bar was a place where I felt safe and well connected as a lesbian in training. I would go there after leaving A.A. meetings for such reasons and, even more so, because the barflies seemed less complicated than the women in A.A. I didn't have to conform to any specific way of communicating or partake of any rituals that might have existed amongst the crowd.

Revolution (Atlanta, Georgia)

1492 Piedmont Avenue Northeast, #B today

Revolution

Location: 1492 Piedmont Avenue Northeast, #B, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened/Closed: Mid 1990s

The description at Clubplanet is so brief as to be almost meaningless:

Revolution - Large gay bar and club: crowd is mostly lesbian.

That's about all I've dug up. And the only reason I ever found out about Revolution in the first place is that it's mentioned in a January 2012 article called "Why can't Atlanta sustain lesbian bars?"

Of course, the article mulls over the same laments we've seen in cities all over the country, if not the world, over the past few years. Lots of possibilities are tossed out as to why lesbian bars are in such short supply these days, but no overarching theory is proposed--which is fair enough.

Today, the location is occupied by Mixx, a "mixed" gay bar.

Paris Decatur

Paris Decatur

Paris Decatur

Location: 308 West Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur, Georgia, USA

Opened: April 8, 2007

Closed: March 27, 2010

As we often see here at Lost Womyn's Space, establishing that a bar is/was "lesbian" and during what time period(s) is not necessarily an easy task. Paris Decatur is yet another example of this basic conundrum.

Take this September 2007 review from Citysearch which appeared just a couple of months after Paris Decatur opened her doors. After perusing this, you feel pretty sure that yes, Paris Decatur was one groovy lesbian space. Okay, the men were "welcomed" and all that (as they nearly always are in bars), but the spotlight was still clearly on the ladies:

After the closing of My Sister's Room, the women who love women in Decatur, were left without a nightspot of their own. Enter Paris-Decatur, in the old Supper-Club spot. Still cozy, warm vibe, and a place to get a nice drink with friends, or to meet new ones. Tuesday nights, are Paris Idol nights. Fun girlz, and they have Thursdays for the boyz of Decatur. But men are always welcomed here. Just a great bunch of gals, in one of Atlanta's best hoods! Sunday Brunch is coming soon.

• Pros: Decatur's Best Spot For Womyn, Who Love Womyn!
• Cons: Not Open On Mondays, But The Girlz Need Their Rest!

Then there's this review from December 2007 (also from Citysearch). This one also makes Paris Decatur sound like one great womyn's space:

Awesome alternative bar! soft decor and romantic
a place to meet women or just come and be yourself
Dance floor, pool room, gourmet appetizers.

• Pros: Great crowd, nice atmposphere
• Cons: none

We see similar overall themes in this review from July 2008, except that the place now appears more "mixed" than lesbian. Did the dudes go from merely being "welcomed" to taking over?

The grand dames of Decatur are saying "Oui, Oui" to this hot entry into the Eastside nightlife scene. A mod and cozy spot, there is nothing Hilton about this popular stand-in for the city's once hallowed lesbian bar, My Sister's Room. With none of the foliage or freaky fringe of the former, this spot is more hip and hot than its predecessor and makes for an exciting evening under the lights. A mixed crowd mingles here on weekends, sipping tantalizingly mixed cocktails in the snug bar area or nibbling gourmet appetizers with friends around a smattering of tables. After a few drinks, its time to take a turn on the diminutive dance floor to pop and Top 40 DJ sounds as well as more than few blasts from the past. During the week, Paris lures revelers with offerings such as open mic nights, wine tastings and always-popular karaoke.

At yelp, there is one review of Paris Decatur from 2008, and two from 2009. None of them even hint that this is a lesbian place, though it is generally classified as a "gay bar." The myspace page defines this place as an "alternative" bar, which to my mind, is vague in the extreme.

But just as soon as you figure that the place went "gay" or "mixed" over time, you find contradictory evidence. Like this review from August 2009 that refers to Paris Decatur as a "lesbian hangout" that "welcomes all." Deja vu all over again?

Nestled between Natalie's Fish House and the Christian Science Reading Room in a small, bustling shopping center in downtown Decatur is a club called Paris Decatur. Walk through the door and you will find a long bar with sitting areas decorated with a kitschy assortment of chairs, couches, and tables. The place is reminiscent of a New Orleans Brothel or a parlor from the 1920s. Tour further back and you will come across a decent sized dance floor with a makeshift stage to one corner; the place is surprisingly large given the outside indicates otherwise. Move further back through the doors to the left of the dance floor and you will come across a deck with a sitting area used for smoking (Paris is a smoke-free bar). Commonly thought of as a lesbian hangout, Paris Decatur welcomes all to attend. The club hosts special events, serves a variety of food, and most importantly, is open and serving until 4 a.m. So if you live in Decatur and don't want to stray to far from home, drop by the only game in town.

Then when she finally shuttered her doors for the last time, she's once again described as an "Atlanta lesbian bar." Except when she's referred to as "GLBT bar." Confused yet? From GA Voice:

Paris Decatur, the LGBT bar at 308 Ponce  de Leon Ave., will shut its doors after a final show on March 27, owner Susan Bird announced today.

“It has been a great run, and I have learned a lot.  I have had great support from my friends, and I have met so many interesting and wonderful people that I now feel privileged to call my friends,” Bird said in a press release.

Bird asked the club’s supporters to visit on March 20, 26 and 27 “to say goodbye and have one last drink with me.”

So what happened? Project Q explains the demise of Paris Decatur in a little more detail. Seems that Paris Decatur had problems connecting with her lesbian base in a consistent way. Doesn't sound like the strip mall location helped matters either:

Just nine weeks after the Bodyshop and Stage Door hosted their last hoorahs, the lesbian-owned Paris Decatur announces that it’s out of gay Atlanta’s nightlife picture after a final weekend on March 26-27. 



Paris Decatur interior

"It’s over! Thanks to everyone who supported Paris for the last three years,” owner Susan Bird tells Facebook followers of the bar. “It’s time to move on.”

Other than the “Sukeban!” parties, which had a loyal niche following, the bar in a Decatur strip mall struggled to get patrons through the door on a regular basis.

Bird & Co. tried everything from Boys Nights to special events and drastic drink specials. Some of those ideas worked as one-off successes, but on regular nights, the bar drew increasingly few to its cute, comfortable atmosphere and friendly vibe.

“I met some incredible people owning this bar, and I will miss that,” Bird continues in her statement. “We had some fabulous times…memorable at least!”

Bellissima

Belissima exterior



Bellissima

Location: 560-B Amsterdam Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened: Spring 2008

Closed: January 11, 2012

Here's the lady's coy self-introduction on Myspace:

We are located in the heart of midtown in the old 'Miss Q's' space in Amsterdam Walk off Monroe Drive, around the corner from Piedmont Park. You have to see it to believe it! Bellissima is a Beautiful new...hot...sexy...smoke-free...Midtown Lounge where everyone is welcome! Available for private events, and meetings.

Well, that tells us...nothing.

We read on:

Bellissima is a great venue where the guys and girls party together! FINALLY.... What Atlanta has been missing! What a face lift! We are so excited to present to you... Bellissima!

Okay. So we're a mixed place? (As if there were a shortage of places "where the guys and girls party together." Since when?) Not only that, we're a mixed place with a lot of exclamation marks!!!

But wait!!! Buried in one of the ads dotting the MySpace page is the following line:

VOTED "BEST PLACE TO MEET WOMEN" (Turns out that was in 2010.)

Hmm. Let's just say our identity is a bit, uh, conflicted? Not unusual among (ostensibly) lesbian bars, where attracting paying male customers is not only considered highly profitable but desirable, given that Dudes are so much higher in the Kewl Factor that just gals are.

I'd pass this by as a women's bar, except that other parties DO identify it as a lesbian space. Which is a strange phenomena we've seen before with lesbian bars. Maybe it's akin to the woman who is deeply closeted about being gay, even while all her friends know.

Anyway, here's an early review from Andrew Collins at about.com. And he definitely uses the "L" word:  

A swish new spot east of Piedmont Park on Amsterdam Avenue (on the right, before you get to the large building that contains Amsterdam the gay sports bar), Bellissima is just the elegant but totally fun lesbian bar that Atlanta had been lacking. The spacious club with a nice-size dance floor draws a steady mix of well-coiffed, stylish women (and more than a few gay guys who appreciate the cool vibe), tending toward the under-30, professional set. A variety of theme events (Latin nights, '80s retro parties) keep things interesting. Bellissima has quickly become not only one of the hot spots in town but also one of the country's most happening lesbian clubs.

Aol Travel also clearly identifies Belissima as a lesbian space:

Bellisima is another hidden gem in the Amsterdam Avenue complex and among the hip Atlanta gay scene. Unlike other popular lesbian bars like My Sisters Room in East Atlanta, Bellisima is not a place you would stumble upon unless you were looking for it. This wine and tapas bar has an eclectic and cool vibe with artwork adorning the walls, an extensive wine list and a variety of decent small bar plates. The best part of Bellisima besides the bevy of beauties cued up at the bar, is the strong drinks served up by the more than hospital bartenders who are not afraid to give you an extra kick in your cocktail.

As does this little blurb from Atlanta Magazine:

Bellissima With an interior design fond of vine motifs and ovular light fixtures, this lesbian lounge has DJ Duck on Saturdays and serves the best cocktails. Ask for bartender Toni and order a fruity, whiskey-based Group Hug.

But the owner couldn't keep it happening in a good way. Or at least had lost the desire to keep it happening in a good way. As Project Q reported back in November 2011:

Bellissima, a smoke-free Midtown mainstay of lesbian nightlife for more than three years, is up for sale as its owner seeks a respite from the grind of operating at bar hours and the gyrations of a troubled economy. Anna Ragghianti says that after three years of nightlife fun – from hosting Bedlam to comedy shows, drag shows, gay business mixers and her usual mix of lesbians seeking cocktails and dance – she’s ready to move on, travel and work on film projects she’s otherwise had to take a pass on.

“It is a great location and I think the community needs something like Bellissima,” Ragghianti says.

“Whoever bought it could open it pretty quickly and not dump a lot of money or time into it. My heart wants to keep it in the gay community.”

The bar, which opened in spring 2008, has been up for sale “for some time,” Ragghianti says, but she recently reduced the price to $79,000. She doesn’t own the property on which the bar sits in Amsterdam Walk, so the price tag comes with an additional $4,000 monthly rent.

And then on January 11, 2012, it was announced that Bellissima was closed:

Anna Ragghianti, owner of the now shuttered Bellissima, announced on Facebook Wednesday her nightclub of three years has closed.

Ragghianti told Project Q in November, she was going to sell the bar because she wanted “to move on, travel and work on film projects she’s otherwise had to take a pass on.”

Today, Ragghianti informed her most loyal followers that she was unable to sell Bellissima due to issues with securing a lease for a potential purchaser.

Bellissima interior (2010)

“We were excited to have a contract with a new owner who planned to take rains as soon as possible, keeping it as Bellissima,” Ragghianti said in the Facebook post. “Unfortunately, Halpern Enterprises has informed us that they will not sign a lease with the new owner.”

Halpern Enterprises is Amsterdam Walk’s developer and Bellissima’s landlord.

“Bellissima is now closed and will not re-open at the Amsterdam location,” Ragghianti said. “I will be considering all options moving forward and will post any updates on this Bellisssima Facebook Fan page.”

Tift College

Tift College

Tift College

Location: Forsyth, Georgia, USA

Opened: Founded in 1849 as the Forsyth Female Collegiate Institute

Closed: Merged with Mercer University in 1986, which then closed it in 1987

Tift College was one of those women's colleges that went through a lot of name changes over the years. Founded as Forsyth Female Collegiate Institute in 1849, it was renamed Monroe College in 1857. The trustees then renamed again in 1907, this time as Bessie Tift College, in honor of loyal alumna Elizabeth "Bessie" Willingham Tift. (Tift managed to persuade her persuade her wealthy businessman husband to make large and frequent benefactions to the school and save it from bankruptcy.) The name was finally shortened to Tift College in 1956.

Tift College students (1929)

In 1898, the school became affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention. Darin Scott Harris has argued that Tift College's association with the Georgia Baptists created many tensions and conflicts, as the Georgia Baptists put far more value on educating men. The school's chronic funding problems were a direct result of that conflict. Within this context, Tift College and its students were forced to struggle with what it meant to remain a separate school for women, as well as what womanhood and feminism meant to them. According to Harris, "attitudes and beliefs changed over the years, and while a strong feminist spirit may not have been achieved, the changes that were evident affected the purposes of the college. As the student body became more diversified, students were no longer content to become genteel, southern ladies or "polished cornerstones." Going against traditional roles, many students argued for a curriculum that would allow them to compete with men in the job market."

Like many small women's liberal arts colleges during the 1970s and 80s, Tift College faced a shrinking student body. Enrollment at Tift declined steadily from 489 in 1979 to 236 in 1985. Nevertheless, the 1986 merger with Mercer University was not passively accepted by Tift's students, staff, and alumnae. In fact, the district attorney of the Flint Judicial Circuit, three former trustees of Tift, a former professor of Tift, an organization called SavTift, Inc., and several alumni and donors of Tift College filed suit against the corporate entities of Mercer University and Tift College, their presidents and boards of trustees, in order to have the merger set aside. Unfortunately, there effort was not successful.

Postcard of Tift College, students at Bessie Tift College gather in front of Upshaw Hall to participate in May Day festivities (1929)

Cox College and Conservatory

Cox College (1842-1934)

Cox College and Conservatory

Location: College Park, Georgia, USA

Opened: 1842

Closed: 1934

Cox College was a private women's college located in College Park, Georgia that operated from 1842 to 1934.

Cox College was originally called LaGrange Female Seminary in 1842 when it opened in LaGrange, Georgia. It changed names several times: to LaGrange Collegiate Seminary for Young Ladies in 1850, Southern and Western Female College in 1852, Southern Female College in 1854; and finally to Cox College by the 1890s. Part of the school moved to East Point, Georgia in the 1890s, however the main institution moved to Manchester, Georgia in 1895, which renamed itself College Park in 1896. By 1913 it was sometimes referred to as Cox College and Conservatory. It closed several times, including ten years between 1923-1933. It reopened one more time in 1933, but closed for a final time in 1934, leaving the city of College Park without a college.

For beautiful turn-of-the century photographs of the Cox College grounds and students, see this yearbook.

Postcard of Cox College

Otherside Lounge

Otherside Lounge (1997)

Otherside Lounge

Location: 1924 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Opened: 1990

Closed: February 21, 1997

The story behind the Otherside Lounge bombing is a poignant reminder of how difficult it can be to maintain and defend womyn's space, and how such spaces can rouse the intense opposition of ultra-right wing (terrorist) men and their supporters. It's important to note that two of the other objects of Eric Rudolph's wrath were women's health clinics (e.g. the Atlanta Northside Family Planning Clinic and the New All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama) which is not a coincidence. In fact, notice that at his sentencing, Rudolph actually apologized to the victims of the Olympic Park bombing, while he pointedly did not mention the bombings targeted at womyn's spaces nor make any apology to the victims.

From the LGBT Hate Crimes Project:

The Otherside Lounge was located on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, GA. It was owned by Beverly McMahon and Dana Ford, life partners for over 20 years. At the time of the bombing, the club had been operating for seven years and was popular among Atlanta's lesbian community and had a significant African American clientele. Ford worked at the club as general manager.

The Bombing

On Friday, February 21, 1997, there were about 150 people in the Otherside Lounge, when an explosion occurred on patio at around 10:00 p.m.. Five people were injured, one seriously. The bomb caused over $700,000 in damages to the establishment.

Memrie Wells-Cresswell

Memrie Wells-Cresswell, of Snellville, GA, was the most seriously injured of the patrons at the Otherside Lounge that night. She underwent surgery to remove a three to four inch nail from her arm, which severed a brachial artery. Cresswell was at the Otherside that evening to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Prior to the bombing, Cresswell had only told a few people that she was a lesbian. However, she was “outed” when Mayor Bill Campbell mentioned to the media that she was at the bar that evening. As result, Cresswell was fired from her job at a real estate as a result. Cresswell claimed the company she worked for gave her “hush money” to leave her job without filing a lawsuit.

The Investigation

A second bomb was found just outside of the building and was detonated by a police robot. The bombing was the fourth such attack to occur in Atlanta within seven months. Officials said the bombing of the Otherside Lounge was similar to the bombings at the Centennial Olympic Park on July 27, 1996, and the bombing of a Sandy Springs women's clinic on January 16, 1997. In both the Olympic Park and Otherside Lounge bombings, the bomb was left in a knapsack. In both the Otherside Lounge and Sandy Springs clinic bombings, a second bomb was planted. Authorities believed the second bombs were intended to harm police and medical workers responding to the first explosions.

On Monday, February 24, the FBI received a letter from an organization called The Army of God, claiming responsibility for the bombing. The letter threatened “total war” against the federal government, and promised more attacks against abortion clinics, as well as gays, lesbians, their organizations and supporters.

Authorities received a total of four letters from the Army of God, claiming responsibility for all three Atlanta bombings.

In March 1997, Federal agents disclosed to the media that they were investigating whether the bombings were were the work of a single bomber.

Community Response

In response to the bombing, the gay community in Atlanta organized meetings and rallies, and tightened security at area bars. Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell donated $2,000 from his campaign to establish a reward fund for information leading to an arrest in the case. The fund later grew to $10,000. More than 1,000 people gathered for a rally at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay political advocacy organization, issued a call to conservative organizations that had condemned the abortion clinic bombings to also condemn the bombing of the Otherside Lounge. Executive Director Elizabeth Birch wrote to Christian Coalition Leader Ralph Reed and Family Research Council leader Gary Bauer, calling on their organizations to condemn the bombing attack directed at the gay community in Atlanta, as they had denounced the clinic bombings in Atlanta and Elsewhere.

Following Birch's letter, Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed issued a statement calling the Otherside Lounge bombing as “indefensible terrorism and cowardice.”

The Fugitive

In October 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice charged survivalist and extremist Eric Rudolph with the bombings of at Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta Northside Family Planning Service clinic and the Otherside Lounge. In February 1998, Rudolph had been charged with the bombing of the New All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rudolph had been a fugitive since the Birmingham clinic bombing in January 1999. He was believed to be hiding in the in the mountains of Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina. Authorities focused their attention around the town of Murphy, where Rudolph had moved with his family as a teenager. The FBI spent $24 million looking for Rudolph, including a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. The agency sent hundreds of agents to scour the area, and met with area hunters at the start of every hunting season. Rudolph, however, eluded capture for five years.

The Capture

Rudolph was captured at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2003. He was spotted by a police officer during a routine patrol, behind a Save-a-Lot grocery store. The officer saw Rudolph crouching behind some milk crates, assumed he'd come upon a robbery in progress, and arrested him. Rudolph was last seen in July of 1998 when he tried to buy supplies from a health food store in Murphy, NC.

Following Rudolph's capture, law enforcement officials investigated whether any area residents had helped Rudolph avoid capture. During the time Rudolph was a fugitive, local businesses in Murphy printed and sold t-shirts bearing the slogan “Run, Rudolph, Run.” After his capture, a local diner owner put the message “Pray for Eric Rudolph” on the sign outside her establishment. A local coffee shop sold cups of “Captured Cappuccinos”, and Rudolph autographed copies of his “wanted” poster following his arrest.

Investigators could not find sufficient evidence that any local had helped Rudolph, but when he was captured Rudolph appeared relatively well-groomed and had neatly trimmed hair.

Plea & Sentencing

On August 13, 2005, Rudolph entered guilty pleas to all four bombings, as part of an agreement that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. Rudolph explained his motives in an 11 page statement passed out by his attorneys.

In his statement, Rudolph said the following about the bombing of the Otherside Lounge.

The next attack in February was at The Otherside Lounge. Like the assault at the abortion mill, two devices used. The first device was designed not necessarily to target the patrons of this homosexual bar, but rather to set the stage for the next device, which was again targeted at Washington's agents. The attack itself was meant to send a powerful message in protest of Washington's continued tolerance and support for the homosexual political agenda.

Despite the inherent dangers involved in timed devices, all of these devices used in both of these assaults functioned within the parameters of the plan, and I make no apologies.

… Whether it is gay marriage, homosexual adoption, hate crimes laws including gays, or the attempt to introduce a homosexual normalizing curriculum into our schools, all of these efforts should be ruthlessly opposed.

Sentencing

As part of his plea agreement, Rudolph received a total of three life sentences, and a sentence of life without parole for the death of a police officer and the wounding of a nurse in clinic bombings.

No Apologies

Several of Rudolph's victims and their surviving family members made statements at his sentencing, including victims from the Otherside Lounge bombing. Bar owners Beverly McMahon and Dana Ford stood together as Ford read their statement. Memrie Wells-Cresswell also spoke, and said to Rudolph “I am here to tell you personally today that you didn't kill me.”

In a statement he read after the 14 victims statements, Rudolph apologized to the victims of the Olympic Park bombing. He made no mention of the clinic bombings, the Otherside Lounge bombing, or the victims of either attack in his apology.