Come Out Seattle

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Come Out Seattle Preserving Pride: Come Out Seattle documents and celebrates our city’s LGBTQ+ history—spaces, stories, and memories.

The Seattle Gay Bar History Project maps and archives photos and tales of LGBTQ+ bars and taverns, keeping our vibrant past alive.

10/13/2026

WELCOME TO SEATTLE, OUT & EQUAL!

Come Out Seattle is excited to welcome everyone attending the 2026 Out & Equal Workplace Summit. We're thrilled to have so many LGBTQ+ leaders, advocates, and allies gathering in our beautiful city.

Here's a little Seattle history you might not know. The very ground beneath the Seattle Convention Center's Summit building was once home to Spag's Tavern and The Pines Bathhouse, two historic gathering places that were part of Seattle's vibrant LGBTQ+ community long before the convention center arrived. It's a wonderful reminder that Seattle's history is all around us, sometimes right beneath our feet!

COME SEE US AT BOOTH 429!

Stop by, say hello, and discover how Come Out Seattle is preserving and sharing the stories of the bars, taverns, restaurants, and gathering places that helped shape our city's LGBTQ+ history. We can't wait to meet you!

www.comeoutseattle.org

09/22/2026

Yes, Seattle really had a gay bar called Shelly’s Leg. 🪩🌈

And its story is one of the most fascinating chapters in Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history.

Shelly’s Leg was more than a nightclub — it was a gathering place, a community space, and part of a changing Seattle where LGBTQ+ people were becoming increasingly visible.

The Steps to the Future exhibit has now wrapped, but the stories live on.

See more photos, bar history, and memories from Seattle’s LGBTQ+ past at ComeOutSeattle.org.

09/22/2026

What does 80/40/20 mean? 🌈

Three milestones. Three chapters in Seattle LGBTQ+ history.

80 years since the Garden of Allah.
40 years since Pride on Broadway.
20 years since Thumper’s final last call.

But Steps to the Future was about more than dates. It was about the people, places, celebrations, and gathering spaces that helped build community in Seattle.

The exhibit has now closed, but the history is still there to explore.

Visit ComeOutSeattle.org to discover more photographs, stories, maps, oral histories, and memories from Seattle’s LGBTQ+ past.

09/22/2026

A look back at Steps to the Future: 80/40/20 🌈

The exhibit may have ended, but the stories continue.

Come Out Seattle is preserving and sharing Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history through photographs, archives, oral histories, and the memories of the people who lived it.

Take a look back — then explore more at ComeOutSeattle.org.

09/15/2026

TOMORROW NIGHT AT MOHAI!

The Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle: The Early Years

Join Come Out Seattle tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 16, from 6:30–8:00 PM at MOHAI for a special evening celebrating and preserving Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history.

In February 1996, John Reed sat down with members of the Northwest Le***an and Gay History Museum Project (NWLGHMP) to share stories from his early years with the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle Olympic & Rainier Empire.

Tomorrow night, we’ll revisit those stories — including the spectacular Balls that drew crowds of up to 3,000 people — and explore the Court’s place in the early days of Gay Liberation in Seattle.

Come hear the stories. Celebrate the people who helped build our community. And help keep Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history alive for generations to come.

History Café: Preserving LGBTQ Seattle Gay History

https://mohai.org/event/history-cafe-preserving-lgbtq-history/

Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
TOMORROW — Wednesday, September 16
6:30–8:00 PM

We hope you’ll join us!

THE STORY OF SHELLY’S LEG: “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth!”In 1973, Joe McGonagle opened Shelly’s Leg with Pat Nesser...
09/10/2026

THE STORY OF SHELLY’S LEG: “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth!”

In 1973, Joe McGonagle opened Shelly’s Leg with Pat Nesser and Shelly Bauman.

In 1995, Joe shared his life story with the Northwest Le***an and Gay History Museum Project (NWLGHMP).

On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, join Come Out Seattle as community readers bring his memories of Shelly’s Leg and other LGBTQ stories to life.

📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
🕡 6:30–8 p.m.
📍 MOHAI | 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle

Event details and registration:
https://mohai.org/event/history-cafe-preserving-lgbtq-history/

1986 BAR MAP FEATURED IN “STEPS TO THE FUTUREExplore Seattle’s LGBTQ+ bars and nightlife in 1986.Steps to the Future, an...
09/03/2026

1986 BAR MAP FEATURED IN “STEPS TO THE FUTURE

Explore Seattle’s LGBTQ+ bars and nightlife in 1986.

Steps to the Future, an exhibit of historical photographs organized by Come Out Seattle, is entering its final weeks at Union.

Stop by to learn more about the LGBTQ+ bars featured on this map of Seattle in 1986.

STEPS TO THE FUTURE: 80/40/20
On view at Union through September 15, 2026, the exhibit looks back across 80, 40, and 20 years of local q***r history—from The Garden of Allah to Pride on Broadway to the final last call at Thumper’s.

www.comeoutseattle.org

Union Seattle - 1009 East Union Street

History Café: Preserving LGBTQ+ HistorySince 1994, the Northwest Le***an and Gay History Museum Project (NWLGHMP) has wo...
09/02/2026

History Café: Preserving LGBTQ+ History

Since 1994, the Northwest Le***an and Gay History Museum Project (NWLGHMP) has worked to preserve the voices and experiences of LGBTQ+ people throughout the Pacific Northwest through its collection of oral histories.

Join Come Out Seattle for a special evening at MOHAI, where community readers will bring these stories to life—sharing powerful reflections on LGBTQ+ life, past and present.

📍 MOHAI
🕡 Wednesday, September 16, 2026 • 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Come listen, learn, and celebrate the stories that have shaped our community.

Learn more: https://mohai.org/event/history-cafe-preserving-lgbtq-history/

"Hold That Tiger" at The Garden of Allah 1950.Seattle's first LGBTQ owned and operated bar The Garden of Allah was open...
09/02/2026

"Hold That Tiger" at The Garden of Allah 1950.

Seattle's first LGBTQ owned and operated bar The Garden of Allah was open from 1946-1956 at 1299 1st Ave. In Seattle.

"Hold That Tiger" was a popular Dixieland rag first recorded in 1918 and made popular by the Mills Brothers. It was probably pounded out on the Garden’s Wurlitzer organ which included a simultaneous piano and may have sounded like this performed by Winnifred Atwell.
https://youtu.be/lXV5wRjGEk8?si=3zYrE3zXKkjiKvEX

See this and other pictures at "Steps to the Future 80/40/20", the Come Out Seattle exhibit at Union Seattle now until Sept.15.

From left: Tigers Bily DeVoe, Jackie Starr, Hotcha Hinton, Francis Blair. Animal Trainer: Kenny Bee.

Picture courtesy of the University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, SOC7432/UW43632.

For the full story see “An Evening at the Garden of Allah” by Don Paulson & Roger Simpson 1996.

12/04/2025

Come Out Seattle | Shelly’s Leg Fire

At 1:00 AM on Thursday, December 4, 1975, the dance floor at Seattle’s wildly popular gay disco Shelly’s Leg was packed. The music was thumping, the crowd was alive, and the night felt unstoppable. Then tragedy struck. A tanker truck carrying 4,800 gallons of gasoline hit a guardrail on the Viaduct. The tank broke loose, ruptured, and sent a river of burning fuel cascading off the viaduct in a sheet of flame.

Directly across the street, Shelly’s Leg caught fire—but in a stunning miracle, everyone escaped safely out the back entrance. Nearly 50 years later, the story of Shelly’s Leg remains one of resilience, community, and the spaces that shaped Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history.

Come Out Seattle is committed to preserving these stories and the spaces that helped our community thrive.

Help us keep this history alive:
Donate to Come Out Seattle:
https://give.seattleparksfoundation.org/campaign/710790/donate

Purchase the Shelly’s Leg Limited Edition T-Shirt:
https://www.bonfire.com/shellys-leg-limited-edition-t-shirt/

100% of proceeds benefit Come Out Seattle.

Thank you for helping preserve our shared history.
www.comeoutseattle.org

Address

1009 East Union Street
Seattle, WA
98122

Telephone

+12063281318

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