“We will always remember”

Abstract

On June 12, 2016, the world was shocked by the shooting in Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub in Florida. In the days that followed, LGBTQ+ communities worldwide convened in iconic gay neighborhoods to mourn and express solidarity with Orlando’s queer communities. Popular and academic discourses have questioned the contemporary relevance of iconic gay neighborhoods like the Castro in recent years. However, mourners temporarily revived the culture, practices, and traditions that once distinguished these neighborhoods as anchors of the LGBTQ+ community. Drawing on the reactivation of queer space in Washington, D.C.’s gayborhood Dupont Circle, this chapter explores a process of placemaking I refer to as place reactivation – the act of temporarily reclaiming and reviving the dormant symbolic character of a place or locality. A practice of placemaking long associated with LGBTQ+ communities, this chapter reflects on how evidence signaling the “straightening” of gay neighborhoods has not erased their symbolic value. Place reactivation emphasizes how everyday LGBTQ+ citizens preserve gay neighborhoods through various expressions of placemaking, and rely on these places as safe spaces for the safe exploration of gender and sexual identities. Provided that these areas persist in the queer imagination, members can appropriate these spaces as they need to mobilize their vision of authentic community.