Miss Camp America
Houston Drag Pageants
The Miss Camp America Pageant began in 1969 as a birthday party for Pat Petty. This competition ran until 2006 and included more than 250 members. In 1988, the pageant became a foundation has donated over $1 million in profits to charity, primarily AIDS-related charities. After the pageant was retired, the Miss Camp America Pageant crown was gifted to the Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History [GCAM]. The crown can be seen on display at the first floor Cultural Center in the Montrose Counseling Center building. The name itself is a play on the Miss America pageant and the pageant is supposed to be a parody of the Miss America Pageant. The Miss Camp America organization was also very engaged in the community.
According to This Week in Texas, members of Miss Camp America visited AIDS patients in local hospitals on a monthly basis. During the year of 1990, they distributed practical gifts to each patient. For the holidays, they made and distributed special gifts appropriate for the season (This Week in Texas, 1990). The chairman of the board during that time, David Stewart, spoke about the strong support they also showed to the Stone Soup food pantry. Each month, members of Miss Camp America published “a list of most-needed items in [their] newsletter. [Their] members [brought] those items to [their] monthly meeting and they [were] delivered to the Stone Soup food pantry” (This Week in Texas, 1990). They as well provide many other fund-raising organizations with “manpower, costumes and sometimes even the campiest showgirls in town” (This Week in Texas, 1990). Miss Camp America’s community involvement included organizations such as Star Nite ‘90, Stone Soups, AIDS Foundation Houston, the Gay Switchboard of Houston, and the Montrose Clinic.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-mca.html
Miss Camp America. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-mca.html
Wagon Wheel
Houston drag bars
The Wagon Wheel was a female impersonation club that opened in 1936. This was one of the first Houston clubs that featured female impersonators. A fire destroyed the club in 1938, which was suspected to be arson.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/wagonwheel.html
Text
Red Room
Houston drag bars
The Red Room opened in December 1965 and was early prominent bar in Houston. The bar hosted amateur night for female impersonators on Tuesdays. They hosted prominent female impersonators such as Tiffany Jones. The Red Room closed in December 1974.
J.R.'s Bar and Grill
Images for J.R.'s Bar and Grill
JR’s Bar and Grill is a gay watering hole located in Montrose. Opened in 1986, it is the oldest bar in Houston that is still operating. The building was originally a train depot, a grocery store, and then an emporium before it became a bar for the Houston LGBT community. It is popular for amateur strip contests, karaoke, and drag shows. This techno bar is not as elegant as the others, but it attracts a more laid- back crowd with Southwestern-style decor and a nice patio. On Tuesdays, they host Charlie’s Angels Drag RuVue, a popular drag show.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-jrs.html
Rich's Night Club
Rich's Night Club
Rich’s Nightclub was opened in 1983, shut down in 2013, and reopened in 2016 with extensive remodelling. The venue still occasionally has drag shows. Some of the parties that Rich’s used to hold were a garden party, grey party, tea dances, trash disco, and an annual foam party. Rich’s Nightclub claims to be Houston’s largest LGBT nightclub with 15,000 square feet, multiple floors, lounges, and a patio.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-richs.html
Mary's Bar
Mary's Bar
Pictures from houstonlgbthistory.org of ads and murals from Mary's bar in Houston.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/houston-marys.html
TC's Performers
TC's Performers
Steve Pena and Adrian of TC's Showbar at Southbeach in Houston, TX
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Pena_%26_Adrian_of_TCs_Showbar_@_SOBE_Houston_on_10-22-11._AYE_MIRA!!_(6279382188).jpg
Mr. Vickie Karr
Mr. Vickie Karr; First Texas Gay Marriage
Newspaper clippings detailing the First Texas Gay Marriage between Antonie Molina and William "Billie" Ert.
http://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/misc-ert.html
Glamorous photo of Wendy Chicago
Wendy Chicago
This is a photo of prominent Houston-area drag queen, Wendy Chicago.
Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History, Inc (GCAM)
Jessica Griffiths
JPG, Image
Image
Drag Costume Collection
Costume in the Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History [GCAM] Drag Costume Collection
Articles of clothing from the Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History [GCAM] Drag Costume Collection and Eartha Quake Closet
Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History [GCAM]