New photo book maps New York’s hidden LGBTQ+ history, one landmark at a time

A new coffee table book out Tuesday offers a rare window into hidden corners of New York City’s LGBTQ+ spaces. “Queer Happened Here” traces a century of famous and forgotten speakeasies, mob-run drag clubs, discos and more.

The 304-page collection features more than 250 archival images and short essays organized by decade. Through places like Eve’s Hangout, the Continental Baths and the Hamilton Lodge Ball, the book illustrates how LGBTQ+ New Yorkers built vibrant communities, often in defiance of mainstream society.

Several years ago, author Marc Zinaman watched two back-to-back documentaries about Studio 54. He was struck by all the mentions of other, lesser-known clubs that sounded “out of this world” and began to look them up. References were scarce, and images even harder to find.

“Queer nightlife spaces in history were not meant to be photographed or documented in historic archives or even mass media,” Zinaman said. “So where do you start to look for imagery?”

Zinaman pinned his finds onto a Google Map, and when the pandemic lockdowns hit, his hobby became an obsession. When he realized he had more than 1,000 spots pinned, he began sharing his finds on an Instagram account, which led to connections with people who had personal stories and memories from these forgotten spaces and, crucially, photographs from the era.

The book features hundreds of photos, many sourced from the private collections of the people who took or collected them.

While later decades are filled with famous names like Studio 54, Danceteria and the Roxy, Zinaman notes that the pre-Stonewall era tells a very different story. In those years, many queer-friendly venues operated under mob control. Organized crime provided protection at female or male “impersonator” clubs like Club 181 — now the Village East Angelika theater on Second Ave. — while profiting off the crowds inside.

Many of the era’s most striking images come from such spaces, where performers commissioned studio portraits in full costume. The book moves from the masked balls of the 1920s through the defiant activism after Stonewall, culminating in the 2020s with a new nightlife scene shaped by the internet and dating apps.

“Queer history isn’t really taught that much in schools,” said Zinaman, a New York City native. He was surprised to learn how many spaces he passes every day — salad joints and luxury stores, or high-end boutiques in the Meatpacking District — that were once infamous queer gathering places.

“I hope this book makes people realize just how much queer history happened in every neighborhood, on, like, every block,” Zinaman said. “It’s just hidden, and exists beneath the surface.”