My favorite part of being an archivist is working with people on their research projects. I learn so much by trying to find them the records they need. I LOVE the hunt for information, regardless of the subject matter. However it is even more joyful when it is about a subject matter I care about.
I met Don “Donnie” Horn as a researcher when he was compiling all of the required bits and pieces of information to place a building on the National Historic Register of buildings. He was working to get Walter Cole’s (aka Darcelle) house1 on the national register and then later the Darcelle Showplace XV2 - home of the longest running drag show on the west coast.
You can learn more about Walter Cole/Darcelle by reading or watching. Darcelle was crowned the world's oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records and was regaling audiences until the very end in 2023 at the age of 92.
Donnie Horn is a playwright, author, historian, LGBTQ leader, director, documentarian, activist, set design, producer, theater owner, and researcher among other skills. Above all he is a kind human being. I recently heard an interview with him and I was reminded about all of the amazing work he is doing and has done to preserve history before it disappears, to have the conversations before people are gone or buildings are torn down. His dedication and perseverance are probably why his theater triangle productions! is starting its 34th season (“One of the oldest LGBTQ-Identified theatres in the United States”).
“I believe history should be preserved, honored and shared in hopes that we may understand who came before us, how we arrived at where we are presently, and what we in this period can accomplish for future generations.” - Donnie Horn
And Donnie has done this with his Umbrella Project. The mission is to engage “others in the preservation and protection of LGBTQ history in Oregon from the beginning of the territory until the present day…Ensuring that everyone who has knowledge of this history or that has been involved in this history deserves to be recognized, either by their contributions or involvement in or with the LGBTQ community. Understanding what happened in the past, how it affected lives, and how it can be honored is at the forefront in this work. Preservation of history is valuable for the whole community.”
What I love about the website is that they say throughout that “it’s not done.” They are still collecting information and that is the point. There is always more to discover and learn and we can’t wait until we have everything just so. I am grateful for the work Donnie has done and continues to do.
This is a link to the Oregon Historic Sites database for Walter and Roxy’s home. There is quite a bit of information about the architecture of the 1896 Queen Anne style house. The part that interests me most is this section:
Walter Cole/ Darcelle has held numerous events at the 89 NE Thompson house, including political activism and gay rights events. One such event, held on July 10, 1983, held by the Right to Privacy PAC, featured Christine Jorgensen, the first person known in the U.S. for having had gender reassignment surgery. The Elmer and Linnie Miller House was also featured prominently in several newspapers and brochures during the 1980s, often as part of local tours of houses by preservation groups.
To read the entire nomination form, click on the NR Nomination link on the top right.
This link goes to the Oregon Historic Sites database for Darcelle’s XV Showplace. I scanned some of the photos used in the nomination form when Donnie came in to do research. From what I understand this nomination is somewhat unique in that there are not that many LGBTQI+ sites on the register. I love that this history is captured in such am official bureaucratic record. The history of gay bars and drag shows is so well documented for future generations.
Darcelle XV Showplace has exceptional importance for its open acknowledgment that drag was part of gay culture and that most of the female impersonators on stage were gay. This public acknowledgement was unprecedented during a time across the U.S. when being a homosexual was illegal and considered a mental illness, and drag was stigmatized even within the gay subculture. Darcelle XV may have been one of the only places in the United States where a gay owner could be seen taking tickets at the door and then getting up on stage in drag. The vast majority of other drag clubs of the pre-Stonewall era were “straight”-owned, and downplayed the link to gay culture whether from fear of reprisal from law enforcement or from fear of social stigma. The location of the venue outside the center of downtown gay life in Portland, as well as its location in a comparatively permissive city, may have helped it thrive. Darcelle XV strongly contributed to the ongoing popularity of drag on the west coast, and ultimately to the societal acceptance of gay culture, especially drag, in the United States. Darcelle XV Showplace also was one of two pre-Stonewall-era Portland establishments (the other, a gay bar called Dahl & Penne, is long-since demolished) that helped to sponsor and develop the LGBTQ Imperial Court System. The Imperial Court System, under which each chapter elects an Empress to reign for a year, has grown into one of the oldest and largest LGBTQ organizations in the world from its beginnings in San Francisco and Portland. Walter Cole, as the proprietor and star drag performer of his nightclub, staked his livelihood on his ability to gain straight allies. He did more than that- he grew into his role as a community leader even as he stood up for and mentored people many disavowed at the time, including transsexuals, performers of color, lesbians, and always, drag performers. These people were often targets of violence, harassment, economic harm, and rejection by their own families, and desperately needed a place to belong. Under the fragile shield of public goodwill built at Darcelle XV Showplace by Walter and his partner Roxy, the nightclub represented safe haven. The nightclub has always provided a welcoming space for all, but in its incredibly long tenure it has had a cross-generational impact. Darcelle XV Showplace is one of only two known drag clubs open prior to 1970 in the United States with an owner who also performed (and is still performing!) as part of the company, and the only one still in the same location today. Through its fundraising, drag sponsorship and events, philanthropy, and its nightly entertainment, the nightclub “has a long history of standing up for LGBTQ rights. The venue…has been a local legend for more than 50 years.” The club is also deeply associated with and inseparable from its owner, Walter Cole/Darcelle, who, at 89 years old, holds the Guinness World Record as the World’s Oldest Performing Drag Queen.27 Darcelle XV Showplace falls under the National Park Service’s LGBTQ nomination themes of “peopling places” by supporting and demonstrating different concepts of gender (as a venue that consistently featured gay and trans performers), developing the American economy (as a long-running business), creating social institutions and movements (as a nightclub accessible to and beloved by a community), expressing cultural values (as the home of Darcelle and Roxy’s drag show and many other drag performance competitions or events), and shaping the political landscape (as the “public home” of community leaders and openly gay men, Darcelle and Roxy).
To read the entire nomination form, click on the NR nomination link on the top right.