Stepping into Magic
Image of Bookshelves in the Archives' front room. Curiosity of the LHA website.
A 1901 multi-family brownstone located in Park Slope, Brooklyn is the home of the Archives. The first moment I walked into the Lesbian Herstory Archives I felt overwhelmed with goodness, anxious with anticipation but ultimately I felt like I walked through a portal, home. I knew I was surrounded by a secure bubble of memories, visibility, stories and grassroot passion. Opening the front door you are greeted by a hallway that is lined with vintage leather jackets, posters and protest signs. When the Archives began in 1972, for 15 years the home of the Archives was on the Upper West Side in Joan Nestle’s apartment. Joan Nestle and Deboarh Edlal, the two founders of the Archives, shared this space with books, newsletters, pericoals surrounding them. Deb and Joan led the charge of gaining the confidence and certainty from the lesbian and gay communities, which ultimately built what is now (50 years later) the Lesbian Herstory Archives. In 1992, Jon, Deb and the lesbian archive community were able to raise enough money to buy the 1901 brownstone in Park Slope, that is now the perminte home of the Archives.
The front hallway leads you into what would be considered the living room area which is filled with a library of books from floor to ceiling. Artwork and photographs of various kinds fill what little space is empty on the walls. Subject file cabinets line the right side of one wall, a small couch sits below the front bay windows, a small desk for one person to work buts up against the left wall and the rest of the room is full of carts with more books and zines. As you continue on the first floor you come into the dining room area. This area often acts as a communal space to talk, view photographs, work on large projects pieces and most commonly a safe space to get to know on another. This table that is always sat at is a French peasant dining room table that the founders got on the street for $30 at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal 50 years ago. A small kitchen and good size basement fill the back part of the brownstone. A lovely private backyard acts as a lunchtime retreat for friendly conversation. Upstairs the rooms are filled with periodicals that have been collected nationally and internationally. There is a room full of zine boxes everything labeled and categized by year and subject. As you look around you see the amount of work that has gone into organizing massive amounts stories and memories.
Photo taken by Sarah Messina - 2023
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Summer 2023 Internship at the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn NY