
The
Steve Brown
Address Books
Houston & Dallas
From
a gay man's collection, circa 1974

When Steve
Brown died in 2016 he left behind his partner of 43 years Greg Shelton.
As a couple they were very active in the community from its early days,
and Greg
has been going through Steve's collection and donating it to the Botts
Collection.
At Botts they were gracious enough to allow me to scan many items, such
as organization
programs, newsletters, and of curious interest, two address books Steve
kept, listing
gay bars and businesses in both Houston and Dallas. I "date"
the entries from around
1974, and they give a unique look at the gay world then.
Houston
Dallas
Many
entries in the Houston book have "codes" after them, and I
think I know
what those meant. For example, on the second B page is the street address
"1011 Bell = E3" and if you go to the E page, the red number
3 matches it, for
the Exile. So the codes cross reference the addresses that are listed
separately
to the names listing.

Similarly,
on the E page is "706 Elgin = T2" and on the T page that corresponds
to the red #2, Tommy's Lounge

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