THE LAVENDER EFFECT® invites you to participate in “QUEER SPACES: Memories from the French Market Place.”  This community project celebrates a landmark West Hollywood gathering space. The complex of shops, offices and dining opened on Santa Monica Blvd. in 1973.  It quickly became a beloved venue which provided a safe space for commerce, social gathering, community building and human rights activism until its closing in 2015.

(Above: Exterior Photo by Alan Light)         (Above: Interior Photo by James Rojas)

The French Market Place holds a significant cultural memory that needs to be properly documented for future generations. Some very important community interactions took place there, many of which led to the formation of organizations and grassroots activism. Photographs, letters, artifacts, and ephemera from the French Quarter restaurant and the small businesses, like Dorothy’s Surrender and Baby Jane, will be digitized, curated, and shared online.

Everyone who cherishes this unique venue is encouraged to share stories, recordings, photos, and ephemera by clicking HERE.

Although the launch of this project was made possible by a donation from Faring Capital (the current owner/developer), we have so much more to do to preserve and celebrate this historic location. CLICK HERE TO HELP SPONSOR QUEER SPACES: Memories from the French Market Place.