Date: June 24, 1973
Location: 604 Iberville Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
Fatalities: 32
Injuries: At least 15
Status: Officially unsolved
Category: Hate crime, Arson, LGBTQ+ history, U.S. disasters

Overview

The UpStairs Lounge arson attack, also known as the UpStairs Lounge Fire, was a deliberately set fire targeting a second-story gay bar in New Orleans. The fire killed 32 people and injured at least 15 others, making it the deadliest attack on an LGBTQ+ venue in United States history until the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre. Despite the scale of the tragedy, media coverage and public response at the time were minimal, shaped by the widespread homophobia of the era.

Origins and Bar Culture

Opened on Halloween night in 1970 by Phil Esteve, the UpStairs Lounge occupied the second floor of a three-story building. Hidden from street view, it offered a safe, communal space for queer patrons in a city where police raids and public outing were common threats. The bar welcomed a racially and sexually diverse clientele, encouraged interracial courtship, and served as both a nightlife venue and meeting space for the local chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), the first openly gay Christian denomination in the country.

The UpStairs Lounge had its own culture, centered on music, friendship, and discretion. It banned activities like sex work and public cruising to maintain peace with the authorities. The patrons sang together around a baby grand piano, with “United We Stand” by Brotherhood of Man becoming their informal anthem.

Events Leading Up to the Fire

Sunday, June 24, 1973, was hot and humid. The bar’s popular “beer bust” event, offering bottomless beer for one dollar, drew a crowd of about 110 people. Pianist David Stuart Gary played music while members of the MCC, who had earlier held worship services, mingled.

Later in the evening, a man named Roger Dale Nunez, known to some as a sex worker and former patron with mental health struggles, entered the bar intoxicated and began harassing others. After being punched and thrown out, Nunez loudly threatened to “burn the place down.” Minutes later, a man matching his description purchased a seven-ounce can of Ronsonol lighter fluid from a nearby Walgreens.

The Fire

At approximately 7:53 PM, someone poured the lighter fluid on the main staircase, the only entrance and exit to the bar, and set it ablaze. At 7:56 PM, a buzzer rang inside the bar, and bartender Buddy Rasmussen asked a patron to check the door. When the door was opened, the fire met fresh oxygen and exploded into the room in a backdraft. The carpet, wallpaper, and ceiling tiles ignited instantly. Lights went out. Smoke filled the room in seconds.

Rasmussen, an Air Force veteran, leapt over the bar and began yelling “Come with me,” leading patrons to a little-known rear exit. He saved at least 20 people by guiding them through that escape route. Other patrons were trapped in the main room. Some tried to escape through the windows but were stopped by iron bars, which were part of a city-approved safety measure. The gap between the bars was only fourteen inches wide. Those unable to fit burned to death in place.

One of the most searing images was the body of Reverend Bill Larson of the MCC, caught in the window frame and visible to onlookers for hours as his corpse smoldered. The fire burned for less than twenty minutes, but the horror it left behind was immense.

Victims

Fatalities:
Twenty-eight people died at the scene. One died on the way to the hospital, and three more died later from injuries. Victims included:

• Joseph Henry Adams
• Reginald E. Adams
• Guy D. Andersen
• Joe William Bailey
• Luther Boggs (died July 10 from burns)
• Louis Horace Broussard
• Herbert Dean Cooley
• Donald Walter Dunbar
• Adam Roland Fontenot
• Larry Norman Frost
• David Stuart Gary
• Horace “Skip” Getchell
• John Thomas Golding Sr.
• Gerald Hoyt Gordon
• Glenn Richard “Dick” Green
• James Wall Hambrick
• Kenneth Paul Harrington
• Reverend William R. Larson
• Ferris LeBlanc
• Robert “Bob” Lumpkin
• Leon Richard Maples
• George Steven “Bud” Matyi
• Clarence Joseph McCloskey Jr.
• Duane George “Mitch” Mitchell
• Larry Stratton
• Eddie Hosea Warren
• James Curtis Warren
• Willie Inez Warren
• Dr. Perry Lane Waters Jr.
• Douglas Maxwell Williams
• Two unidentified white males

Survivors:
Roughly 15 people survived, including:

• Buddy Rasmussen
• Regina Adams (partner of Reginald E. Adams)
• Several patrons whose names were never made public

Aftermath

Thirteen fire companies responded. Spectators gathered and stared. Some laughed. Reporters took photos of charred bodies. National papers ran front-page coverage on June 25, but by June 27 the story had faded, especially once the “gay bar” label was confirmed. Local newspapers published crass jokes about “flaming queens.” Many victims were denied funerals. Religious leaders refused to speak their names. Mayor Moon Landrieu, who was out of the country, said nothing until pressed weeks later. Archbishop Philip Hannan offered a single vague sentence in a church bulletin.

Three of the victims and World War II veteran Ferris LeBlanc, whose family could not be located, were buried in a remote potter’s field in New Orleans East.

Investigation

Homophobia interfered at every stage. Witnesses feared outing themselves. The police avoided pressing charges against Nunez, despite multiple reports that he had threatened to burn the bar. He was never questioned. In 1974, Nunez died by suicide. The New Orleans Police Department closed the case as “undetermined origin.” A separate investigation by the Louisiana Fire Marshal ended in 1980 without new answers.

Media and Memorials

The fire was largely forgotten for decades. In the 1990s, survivor Stewart Butler began organizing remembrance efforts. Writer Johnny Townsend collected survivor interviews. MCC pastor Dexter Brecht pushed for public memorialization. In 2003, a bronze plaque was finally installed at the site. It was stolen in 2024.

The story gained national attention through books, films, and theatre.

Documentaries and Media

• The UpStairs Lounge Fire (Royd Anderson, 2013)
• Upstairs Inferno (Robert L. Camina, 2015)
• The View UpStairs (Max Vernon, 2017)

Books

• Johnny Townsend, Let the Faggots Burn (2011)
• Clayton Delery-Edwards, The Up Stairs Lounge Arson (2014)
• Robert Fieseler, Tinderbox (2018)

Journalism

• Advocate: “Remembering the Worst Mass Killing of LGBT People in U.S. History” by Diane Anderson-Minshall
• New York Times: “Overlooked No More: Bill Larson” by Christina Caron (2019)

Legacy

For decades the UpStairs Lounge fire symbolized the silence and shame surrounding queer death. In time, it also came to represent survival and memory. Public commemorations were held for the 30th, 40th, and 45th anniversaries. In 2014, the U.S. National Park Service recognized the site as a place of loss for LGBTQ+ Americans. In 2019, the New York Times finally published its first obituary for one of the victims.

In June 2023, the 50th anniversary was marked with national memorials, public education, and renewed calls to never forget the lives lost to hate.