"Safe/Haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove," CG Archives Exhibition in Wilton Manors FL
story submitted by Brian Clark, photos by Lee Sharmat, Steven Shires, Lorraine Michels, Brian Clark & Troy Files
"Safe/Haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove" opened on February 21 at Florida's Stonewall National Museum at the Wilton Manors gallery located at 2157 Wilton Drive.
in Wilton Manors, Florida, thanks to the Cherry Grove Archives Committee (CGAC). At the opening reception, co-curators Brian Clark and Susan Kravitz gave a twenty-minute presentation, full of surprises, about what gay life was like in Cherry Grove in the 1950s.
The CGAC "Safe/Haven" photography and memorabilia exhibition will be on view until May 24 and the Archives committee hopes you can find time to stop by. The Cherry Grove Archives Collection is very excited to have the chance to showcase selections from our extensive collection in this show at the Stonewall Museum. The exhibit includes images from costumed themed parties, LGBTQ and gender-fluid theater productions, and the developing 'sense of Community' that had the opportunity to flourish in a beach town on Fire Island during the McCathy era years.The black-and-white as well as color images from our collection come from 35 mm and medium size negatives, slides, polaroids, and printed photographs that our committee has been able to digitize over the past 10 years. Included in the exhibit are actual 1950s theatre playbills, themed house party invitations, images of original hand painted theatre posters, police community warning signs, contact proof sheets, and house signs. In this exhibit, viewers can begin to see how gay people from all over the world had the chance to come together and openly socialize, express their gender fluidity, and explore and share their sexuality within this safe space known as Cherry Grove.

photo captions & credits
"Safe/Haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove" photos by Lee Sharmat
"Safe/Haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove" photos by Brian Clark & Troy Files
"Safe/Haven: Life in 1950s Cherry Grove" poster
Troy Files & Brian Clark, photo by Lorraine Michels
Lee Sharmat, Brian Clark, Susan Kravitz, Troy Files & Lorraine Michels, photo by Steven Shires