Club Carousel’s Birthdate Found

On the heels of the City of Calgary’s historic designation of Club Carousel, we discovered a remarkable NYC article written about the Club, six months after it opened.

It was titled Liberation Canadian Style and published in GAY, New York City’s third post-Stonewall gay newspaper. Started in December 1969 by Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke, GAY’s varied content featured articles written by some of the era’s most significant LGBT rights activists. In September 1970, author John Scarth reported on his trip to Calgary and his experience at the fledgling Club Carousel.

Scarth summarized the history of Club Carousel and described its opening night as Friday, March 20, 1970. Previously, we had only determined that it opened in March 1970, but not the specific date.

Another intriguing fact—new to us—was that renowned American Gay Activist Frank Kameny came to Calgary in 1968 to speak at the University. “If there’s a gay bar in this town, it’s gotta be at the bottom of that,” Kameny quipped about the Calgary Tower.

Scarth’s article about 1970’s Calgary is a time capsule for gay liberation. We include the entire piece here.

Finding new sources is a delight for historians. Enjoy—and Happy Birthday Club Carousel!

{Thank you to historian Maya Bilbao for letting us know about this article.}

{KA}