Sur les bars queer, les descentes de police et les pistes de danse qui disparaissent

Montreal's queer history is older than most may expect. Writers like the city’s own Richard “Bugs” Burnett, author of Three Dollar Bill, have traced it back to moments like a soldier-drummer in 1648 who escaped a death sentence for "the worst of crimes" by agreeing to become New France's first executioner, and what historians consider North America's earliest documented gay establishment: Moise Tellier's shop on Craig Street, where in 1869 the apples and cake were mostly a cover story.

But nightlife proper—its inventory of music, drinks, and a room full of people who understand one another—is a twentieth-century story. In Montreal, it doubles as a map of the city itself detailing who got to dance, where they did it, and what it cost them.

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