Plaque commemorating fatal 1973 New Orleans Up Stairs Lounge fire is stolen

Bella Dardano
·2 min read
3

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — New Orleans City Councilman JP Morrell and LGBTQ community advocates announced that the plaque commemorating the fatal 1973 Up Stairs Lounge fire has been stolen.

In a news release, Morrell said the plaque was installed in 2003 at the site of the former gay bar at the corner of Chartres and Iberville streets in memory of the fire that left 32 people dead.

“Before the 2015 Pulse Night Club shooting, the Up Stairs Lounge fire was recognized as the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ individuals in United States history.”

  • (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
    (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
  • (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
    (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
  • (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
    (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
  • (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
    (WGNO/Patrick Thomas)
  • (Courtesy: New Orleans City Council)
    (Courtesy: New Orleans City Council)

“This fire claimed 32 lives and remains the deadliest fire in New Orleans history. It was a seminal moment in New Orleans’s queer history, and the victims, whose names were on the plaque, deserve to be remembered,” said LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana Executive Director Frank Perez.

The New Orleans Police Department announced it is looking to locate and identify the suspect in the case.

NOPD officials said the plaque was attached to the sidewalk in front of the former Up Stairs Lounge in the 600 block of Iberville Street when an unidentified man allegedly “removed the plaque and toted it away in a garbage can.”

“The act of removing or damaging this memorial is not just a petty theft; it is an assault on the memories of those who perished and an affront to the values we hold dear as a community. The New Orleans Police Department is fully committed to investigating this crime and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable,” said NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Anyone with information about the plaque theft can call the New Orleans Police Department Eighth District at 504-658-6080.

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