Research Documents

Click on the titles below to display the PDF documents:

THE DENVER PRINCIPLES: A cornerstone of HIV/AIDS History
July 2023

Mile High Masquerade: Queer Communities in Denver - 1880-1920
By Edward Scott
December 2022

The Queen City: Denver's Homophile Organizations from 1950-1970
By Nick Ota-Wang
May 2020

In Search of Eve: Transsexual Rites of Passage
By Anne E. Bolin
1983

A Lady By Footlight: Female Impersonation in Nineteenth-Century Denver
By Teddy Scott
December 2019

Movement and Countermovement Dynamics Between the Religious Right and LGB Community Arising from Colorado’s Amendment 2
By Lauren L. Yehle
Political Science honor thesis - June 12, 2019

The Queen City: Denver’s Gay Community’s fight for legal changes - 1973-1974
By Nick Ota-Wang
May 2019

"Against the Order of Nature": Creating a Gay Identity Under the Law in Colorado, 1880-1914
By Jackson Springer
Senior thesis - Spring 2018

Living Activism Through Lesbian Separatism: Building the Lesbian Community in Colorado, 1970-1980
By Amy Lily
Senior thesis - March 16, 2017

Restructuring Feminism: A Comparative History of Women's Activist and Service Provision Groups in Denver's Capitol Hill Area, 1968-1985
By Lisa Humphreys-Smith
Masters thesis - December 17, 2016

Gay Bars and the Emergence of Denver Gay Society
By Thomas Jacob Noel, University of Colorado at Denver
Originally published in The Social Science Journal (Vol. 15, No. 2), April 1978
This document is the first published history of Denver's LGBT community.

The Gay West
By Terry Mangan
An unpublished paper at the Colorado Historical Society (undated)

The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers: The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States
By George Painter
Edited August 11, 2004

PrideFest: A History of Denver's Gay Pride Celebration
By Aaron B. Marcus
Originally published in Colorado Heritage, May/June 2011

Setting the Stage for Denver's Royalty: The ICRME from 1974-1976
By Sarah Blattner
Written January 31, 2016

Queen City of the Plains? Denver's Gay History 1940-1975
By Keith L. Moore
Masters Thesis, University of Colorado, Department of History
Published November 21, 2014

R-0: Race, Sexuality and Single-Family Zoning in Denver's Park Hill and Capitol Hill Neighborhoods, 1956-1989
By B. Erin Cole
Doctoral Dissertation, The University of New Mexico, Doctor of Philosophy History degree program
Published May 2014

Gender, Sexuality, and Love between Women in California’s Suffrage Campaign (Login Required)
By Wendy Rouse

Research Archive Links

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Phil Nash Papers

Publisher, Date: 1978-2008

Description: 10 linear ft. (10 boxes), 1 oversize folder

Bio/Notes: Phil Nash was born in 1950. He served as first president of the Board of Directors of the Colorado AIDS Project (1984) and later received the Paul Hunter Award from the Colorado Human Rights Campaign (1996).

Summary: Collection contains Colorado AIDS Project Board of Directors minutes; fund raising event programs and invitations; client service program announcements; AIDS education and prevention pamphlets; newspaper clippings; photographs; posters; articles; Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Colorado (GLCC) newsletters (1985-1994); Equal Protection Ordinance Coalition (EPOC) materials (1990s).

Lewallen Family Papers

Publisher, Date: 1961-2012

Description: 3.5 linear ft. (4 boxes), 1 oversize file folder

Bio/Notes: Elinor Grace Kirby was born on May 17, 1919, in Star Township in Cloud County, Kan. the daughter of Osbourn and Grace Kirby. She married Thomas Monroe Lewallen, Jr. (1916-2001) on August 14, 1948 in Rockford, Ill. The couple had five children: Janet, Dean, Gary, Kent, and Frances Dee. Elinor Lewallen served in various volunteer leadership positions with the Methodist Church in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, Colo. as well as the Denver League of Women Voters, Denver Anti-Crime Council. In the 1980s she became involved with the Denver chapter of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) serving on the organization's board, staffing the helpline, speakers bureau, progam chair of monthly meetings and editing the organiztion's newsletter. From 1981 to 1991 she also served on the Sexual Ministiries Task Force of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church. Lewallen received numerous awards for her PFLAG activities as well as the Civil Rights Award from the Armerican Association of University Women (1998), President's Award for Distinguished Service to Church and Society from the Iliff School of Theology (2000), and many others. She died in Denver, Colo. on September 14, 2012.

Summary: Collection contains papers and files collected by Lewallen: research files on the Methodist Church & homosexuality (1961-2000), hate mail & clippings (1968-2009), newsletters & publications (1978-2010), posters and clippings (1987-1997), audio recordings of PFLAG meetings (1983-1996), ephemera, audio-cassettes, photographs.

Betsy Stephens Papers

Publisher, Date: 1994-2003

Description: 2 linear ft. (2 boxes)

Bio/Notes: Betsy Stephens (1955- ) helped co-found the Durgano Chapters of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in 1992. She has served as the President of the Durango and Four Corners Chapter of Families United against Hate. Stephens is also on the board for PFLAG Denver and the Colorado Coalition of the PFLAG Chapters, and Families United Against Hate (FUAH). She currenlty works with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

Summary: Collection contains materials collected by Stephens: 4cGlad (Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity) newsletters (2001-2004); PFLAG related binder (1994-2001); PFLAG correspondence (1994-2002); amendment 2 related correspondence and press releases (1996-2001); scrapbook, conference materials, information packets, DVD, meeting minutes, tax exempt status information.

Robert L. Vitaletti Papers

Publisher, Date: 1974-2010

Description: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box), 1 audio-visual box, 2 oversize file folders, 9 MOV video files (169 GB): b sound, color

Bio/Notes: Dr. Robert L. Vitaletti is a practicing licensed psychologist based in the Denver-Metro area. He is a graduate of Adelphi University (Ph.D., 1982). Vitaletti has been involved with issues related to Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as the Executive Director Consultant to the Colorado AIDS Project (1982-2000). Between 1989-1992, he hosted a number of cable TV shows: Common Ground, The Lamba Interview, and Gay Week. The programs dealt with issues related to minority, community, and gender. Vitaletti was also a founder and supervisor of the peer counseling and youth services programs at the Community Services Center of Colorado.

Summary: Collection contains correspondence, notes, speech transcripts, posters, outlines, handouts, clippings related to AIDS and presentations that Vitaletti gave on the subject (1980s-1990s); copies of Vitaletti's student papers and doctoral dissertation (1974, 1975, 1982); video tapes documenting Vitaletti's involvement with the Colorado AIDS Project, episodes of cable TV programs: Common Ground, The Lambda Interview, Gay Week (1980s-1990s).

Bill Olson Papers

Publisher, Date: 1962-2010

Description: 1 linear ft. (1 box)

Bio/Notes: Bill Olson is a long time activist, and leader in the GLBT community in Denver. He is originally from Colo., served in the U.S. military, and has been a founding member of many Denver social organizations. Among the groups he has been involved with include the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire (ICRME) founded in 1973. Olson was among the first “Emperors” of ICRME, has been a board member and official court historian. He was also a member of the Rocky Mountaineers Motorcycle Club (RMMC).

Summary: Collection contains materials: clippings, photographs, legislative and court related files, brochures, posters, by-laws, correspondence, ephemera, newsletters, agendas related to the organizations with which Olson has been involved: Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire (ICRME), Rocky Mountaineers Motorcycle Club (RMMC), Gay Community Center of Colorado (GCCC).

Dr. Robert R. Janowski Papers

Publisher, Date: 1976-2000

Description: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Bio/Notes: Dr. Robert R. Janowski was born in 1949. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan (1974), later establishing a medical practive in Denver, Colo. (1976). Janowski has advocated for homosexual healthcare, liberation, rights, and awareness through groups like the Gay Community Center of Colorado, Gay and Lesbian Health Alliance of Denver, Health Professionals Group of Denver, and Colorado AIDS Project. In his medical practice, Janowski emphasized the care of HIV/AIDS in Colorado during the 1980's and 1990's, and attended the pivotal 1986 International AIDS Conference in Paris, France. With researchers from the Denver and Colorado Departments of Health, he worked on clinical trials of multiple experimental drugs to combat HIV and concomitant opportunistic infections. He has also participated in National Gay and Lesbian Health Conferences, ran “Safe Weeks” in clinics serving gay patients, contributed to the “Open Forum” column in the Denver Post, and has done investigative research regarding homosexual victims of crimes and social rejection. After discontinuing his family medicine practice (1999), Janowski volunteered with Bridges for Education and Boomers Leading Change, among other advocacy organizations, and was Production Director for Learning Ally.

Summary: Collection contains materials assembled by Janowski related to violence against gays, national gay health, AIDS health advocacy, Colorado AIDS Project.

Tea Schook Papers

Publisher, Date: 1964-1995

Description: 6 linear ft. (6 boxes), 1 ovesize file folder, 1 oversize box

Bio/Notes: Theresa Lynn "Tea" Schook graduated from Brighton High School in 1973. She received her BA from Loretto Heights College (1981). Schook has been a prominent member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender Community (GLBT). She was the first openly gay person to run for governor of Colorado (1990) and is a founding member of the Colorado Legal Initiatives Project (CLIP) and Equal Protection Ordinance Coalition (EPOC). In 2015, Tea Schook ran unsuccessfully for City Council in Denver's District 11. She is currently employed as an administrator at the Denver International Airport.

Summary: Collection contains materials documenting Schook's personal and professional lives: photographs, newsletters, EPOC documents and ephemera, correspondence, political campaign related items, campaign banner, poster, research files, financial records, academic records, clippings.

Annie Brenman-West Papers

Publisher, Date: 1978-2015

Description: 1 linear ft. (1 box), 1 oversize box

Bio/Notes:Annie Brenman-West was born In Denver, Colo. on November 5, 1950. In 1981 she was elected Empress VIII of the The Imperial Court of The Rocky Mountain Empire (ICRME). Brenman-West was the first female to hold that position. ICRME is a gay, lesbian, transgender social service organization founded in 1973 in Denver, Colorado. The focus of the organization was originally as a social alternative to the bar scene and to allow an outlet for people interested in female impersonation. ICRME operates the White Rose Scholarship Foundation which has awarded over $240,000 in educational scholarships.

Summary: Collection contains materials: ceremonial vest, clippings, programs, White Rose Scholarship Foundation, scrapbook, photographs, and ephemera related to Brenman-West's involvement with the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire (ICRME); additionally a memorial to and photographs of Les A. Dirks (1956-1994).

GLAAD Denver Chapter Records

Publisher, Date: 1991-1994

Description: 1 linear ft. (1 box), 1 audio visual box

Bio/Notes: Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a U.S. non-governmental media monitoring organization founded by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the media. The national organization was founded in New York City in 1985. The Denver Chapter was formed in 1991. Organization name was changed to acronym: GLAAD in 2013.

Summary: Collection contains correspondence, articles, brochures, newsletters, clippings, agendas, by-laws, articles of incorporation, VHS video tapes.

Category Six Bookstore Records

Publisher, Date: 1979-2015

Description: 2 linear ft. (2 boxes), 2 oversize boxes

Bio/Notes: Category Six Bookstore was the first gay oriented book store in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1982 by Neil Woodward and Daniel Otero, the store was originally located at 909 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colo. Category Six provided information and a gathering place for Gays and Lesbians from the Denver-Metro area. The bookstore later moved to 1029 E. 11th Avenue. In 1991, Jim Schneider bought the business from Woodward and Otero and in 1996 moved the store to 42 South Broadway. Schneider later sold the business to manager, James Dovali in 1997. In 2002, the business was renamed: Relatively Wilde. The bookstore eventually transitioned into a online venue before closing sometime after 2011.

Summary: Collection is primarily made up of materials assembled during the tenure of ownership by Neil Woodward and Daniel Otero and contains articles about Category Six, signed memorabilia of speakers and writers at the book store, publisher correspondence, March on Washington Rainbow Flags, and other ephemera (1982-1990).

Laura Theimer Papers

Publisher, Date: 1973-2016

Description: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box), 21 digital VLC media files in 5 folders ; sound, color; 12 GB, 1 power point presentation ; 48.6 MB

Bio/Notes: Laura Theimer is an activist and member of the LGBT community in Denver, Colo. Beginning in the 1970s, she became involved with the International Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire (ICRME). Born Laura Lucille Theimer on January 14, 1950 in Balboa, Panama to a teacher, William Charles Theimer Jr. and Barbara Louise McClintock, she was the second of four siblings, and the only one born in Panama. The family moved to Wichita, Kan., and later to Denver (1952). Theimer graduated from George Washington High School (1968). She attended college at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. In the early 1970s, Theimer returned to Denver, where she lived until the late 1990s.

Summary: Collection contains correspondence, articles and an autobiographical Power point slide show about Laurie Theimer's life, growing up lesbian in Colo., her friendships, relationships, activism and involvement with the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire.

Orie A. Thompson Papers

Publisher, Date: 1979-1997

Description: 1 oversize folder

Bio/Notes: Orie A. Thompson grew up in Colorado Springs, Colo. After college, Thompson moved to Denver. He has twice served as Chair of the GLBT Center of Colorado, and had his own radio show at KGAY Radio, a pioneering all-day Gay radio station in Denver. In 1997, Thompson founded the Colorado Chapter of the Names Project and organized the showing of the AIDS quilt at the Auraria campus. Thompson also won the Mr. Rocky Mountain Drummer contest (1997) and used the platform to bring awareness to children living with HIV/AIDS.

Summary: Collection contains a poster of the gay bar: The 1942; the bar was once located at 1942 Broadway, Denver, Colo.; also included is a copy of a photograph of the exterior of the building; City and County of Denver World's Aid Day proclamation (1997).

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Records

Publisher, Date: 1979-2015

Description: 6 linear ft. (6 boxes)

Bio/Notes: Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) was founded in 1973 in New York City, N.Y. One of the founding members, Betty Fairchild, moved to Denver in 1976 and after a few years of meetings, the Denver Chapter of PFLAG was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1980. The national organization susequently changed its name to: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. In 2014 the membership of the organization voted to officially change the name to PFLAG to reflect the decades of fully inclusive work it had been doing in the LGBTQ community.

Summary: Collection contains organizational files and promotional materials: correspondence, brochures, lists, clippings, newsletters, fund raising materials, minutes, programs, handouts, awards, photographs, ephemera.

Women's Outdoor Club Records

Publisher, Date: 1979-1981

Description: 0.25 linear ft. (1 box)

Bio/Notes: The Women's Outdoor Club was an organization founded in the 1970's as an outdoor activity and social group for lesbians. It offered hiking, cycling, motorbiking and fishing trips for its members and their children.

Summary: Collection contains club photo album and newsletter.

Judy Miranda Papers

Publisher, Date: 1988-1989

Description: 2 oversize file folders

Bio/Notes: Judy Miranda is an artist focusing on painting, photography and Mexican folk art (Santera wood carver). She moved from California to Colorado in 1998 and became the first Latina department chair for the Community College of Denver for the Graphic Communication Technology Department. The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council is her home gallery for the past 30 years. Miranda's artwork has been shown in many international galleries, including the Prado Museum in Spain, Casa de las Americas in Cuba and Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Mexico.

Summary: Collection contains 14 posters related to AIDS awareness.

Colorado Lesbian and Gay Law Association Records

Publisher, Date: 1988-1989

Description: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Bio/Notes: Colorado Lesbian and Gay Law Association (CLGLA) was established January 1993 in the aftermath of Amendment 2 being passed by Colorado voters. Amendment 2 would have prevented homosexuals and bisexuals from being recognized as a protected class. The organization is a volunteer, professional organization that provides representation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender attorneys, judges, paralegals, law students and allies in the Colorado legal community. Organization later renamed: Colorado LGBT Bar Association.

Summary: Collection contains: meeting minutes, by-laws, history, newsletters, reports, agendas, and a flier.

Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony - Katie Gilmartin

The oral history interviews in this collection were donated to ALOT by Katie Gilmartin, who is a printmaker, author, and academic, and currently resides in California. These interviews were conducted between 1991 and 1993 as research for Gilmartin’s doctoral dissertation “The very house of difference”: Intersections of Identities in the Life Histories of Colorado Lesbians, 1940-1965 (1995). Gilmartin completed her PhD in Cultural Studies at the Yale University Graduate School in 1995.

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