Queering Significance: What Preservationists Can Learn From How LGBTQ+Philadelphians Ascribe Significance to History Sites

Abstract

This thesis explores the ways in which LGBTQ+ individuals in Philadelphia ascribe significance to various places based on oral history interviews and additional primary source material collected initially for the National Park Service Northeast Regional Office’s LGBTQ+ Heritage Initiative. By examining stories from LGBTQ+ individuals of places that matter most to them in Philadelphia, this thesis argues that historic preservationists can expand their definition of significance to include personal testimony and broaden their practices to better engage the communities whose histories they seek to preserve.