In July 1957, Tampa's Jimmie White's Tavern was raided. Police used the crime as a pretense to intensify their crackdown. He was last seen alive at the Knotty Pine. was found beaten unconscious along Riverhills Drive in Tampa and died a month later. When police entered the bar, those dancing would quickly switch from same-sex to opposite-sex partners. The Knotty Pine opened in the 1940s on the corner of Polk and Morgan streets. The history of Tampa's own gay bars mirrors the changes nationwide.
'It's unbelievable how open it is now,' West said.Ī gay bar figures prominently in that timeline - Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn, where riots broke out 50 years ago when homosexuality was illegal and patrons lashed out against constant raids. Today, communities on both sides of Tampa Bay elect openly gay candidates, and this weekend, they host Pride parades. The auction items span a period of growing acceptance for gay people in American society, he said.
