In honor of the 2016 anniversary of the National Park Service (NPS), Preservation Leadership Forum is hosting a series of blog posts highlighting its programs and history. In these posts staff look back on how far the NPS has come and forward to where it hopes to go in the future.

In this post, we talk to Megan E. Springate, the prime consultant for the NPS LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer] Heritage Initiative, about the forthcoming LGBTQ theme study. NPS theme studies provide a historic context for the identification of significant properties for the National Register and National Historic Landmarks programs; provide important background information for other research efforts; and educate the public, both directly and by shaping interpretation at historic sites.

Throughout the study, authors have anchored LGBTQ history to real places—giving, for example, the specific addresses of the Gay Liberation Front’s offices and the sites of their demonstrations. I think people will be surprised at the sheer number of places mentioned in the theme study (well over 1,000) and at their geographic diversity. This is not just the story of LGBTQ New York City and San Francisco. We documented bars, community centers, meeting places, political offices, businesses, places of worship, doctors’ offices, scientific laboratories, and even space ports across every American state and territory. And that is still only a small sample of what is out there—it was impossible to document it all.

2. What are the overall goals of or outcomes associated with the theme study? How do you hope it will be used after publication? What role might the National Park Service have in continuing the promotion of LGBTQ history?

The main goals of the theme study are:

1. To facilitate an increase in the number of places that are on the National Register or designated National Historic Landmarks for their association with LGBTQ history, including amending existing nominations to incorporate LGBTQ history that had not previously been mentioned; and
2. To encourage interpretation of LGBTQ history at NPS sites.

One current example of this is the interpretation of the Annual Reminders at Independence Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1964 to 1968, gay activists picketed in front of Independence Hall on July 4 to remind people that not all Americans were being granted the civil rights and freedoms detailed in the Declaration of Independence. As they pointed out, it was—and, in many states, still is—legal to fire someone or refuse them housing or public accommodation because of their sexual orientation, for example. Spurred by the NPS LGBTQ Heritage Initiative, the Philadelphia Urban Fellow and staff at Independence Park began the Philadelphia LGBTQ Heritage Initiative, reaching out to community members and organizations to document the city’s LGBTQ history.

The theme study is designed to be used by those nominating properties and by those evaluating the nominations, but it is written for a general audience, not just preservation professionals or historians. I hope that a lot of people read it and gain a better understanding of the broad and diverse history of LGBTQ people in the United States, the complex histories of their own communities and the LGBTQ places there, and the need to preserve those histories. And the NPS has suggestions for people interested in learning more about LGBTQ history. We also encourage people to add information, including photos and oral histories, to the LGBTQ America project at HistoryPin.

The response to the LGBTQ theme study has already been overwhelmingly positive. When it was announced in June 2014, only four properties had been listed on the National Register or designated National Historic Landmarks for their connections to LGBTQ history. Now, just over two years later, there are 10, and more are already being considered. Parks throughout the NPS are looking at ways to incorporate their sites’ LGBTQ histories into interpretation, and several organizations are preserving their community LGBTQ history after having heard of the theme study. I hope that the release of the actual document will spur even more engagement across the country.

The challenge, then, was ensuring that the theme study represented all the different facets of LGBTQ history. And, as a result, it is enormous. There are a total of 32 chapters, beginning with broad overviews of LGBTQ history and historic preservation. Distinct chapters examine the diverse LGBTQ histories of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latina/os, and Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, and there are also chapters specifically about bisexual and transgender histories. Other chapters use cities from New York City to Reno to examine regional differences among LGBTQ histories. Thematic chapters cover LGBTQ legal and military history as well as sports, arts and entertainment, commerce, community building, and health. Finally, there are chapters on teaching LGBTQ history and interpreting it at historic sites. Even so, not everyone’s history is included. The goal is to provide a model that others can apply to their own communities.

It has also been challenging to discuss history from times and places during which LGBTQ identities were not as prominently recognized. For example, before gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender became identities that people claimed, homosexual actions (i.e., what people do) did not necessarily define people (i.e., who people are). And even when these became identities, not all people chose to adopt them. To acknowledge and respect this complexity, we focused on relationships—like the decades-long relationship between the first American female astronaut, Sally Ride, who did not identify as a lesbian, and her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy—rather than labeling the people in them.

4. What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned so far? What is the most revealing thing you’ve uncovered?

While I had a sense of the breadth of LGBTQ history across the United States, in every community—huge metropolitan cities and small quiet towns alike—the sheer volume of it took me (pleasantly) by surprise. I have also been surprised by how many places that are already on the National Register, designated National Historic Landmarks, or existing NPS units have important LGBTQ history that is not included in the nominations or interpretations.

I was also very surprised to discover that the LGBTQ Heritage Initiative (of which the theme study is a part) was the first nationwide LGBTQ history project to be carried out by any federal government in the world.

6. What is the projected timeline for completing the LGBTQ theme study?

A specific release date has not been set yet, but when it is released, the theme study will be available free for download on the Telling All Americans’ Stories page.

A sneak peek is available at the NPS website. “Finding Our Place: Queer Heritage in the United States” provides an overview of the many places across the country with LGBTQ stories. We are also maintaining a crowd-sourced map of places, with more than 700 currently listed and another several hundred to add.