Many found this sense of community in bars, restaurants, and other semi-private spaces where gays and lesbians could be with people like themselves and socialize. The Colony Bar’s advertising spoke for itself.Ĭourtesy: Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America, University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Rail Room was located across from Union Station. Finding Community Spaces Clockwise from left: The Jewel Box opened in 1946. Yet unlike immigrants or members of the working-class who had previously settled in cities, gays and lesbians had no ready community.
At the end of the conflict many chose to stay in urban centers rather than return home to their small towns or rural areas. During World War II many gay and lesbian service members discovered others like themselves for the first time while serving in the military.
