I decided to focus on the project “Mapping the Gay Guides” made by Amanda Regan (P.h.D) and Eric Gonzaba (P.h.D). Mapping the Gay Guides is a digital history project that aims to create a visualization of the growth of queer spaces from 1965-1980. To create this visualization they are using data from “Damron Address books”. This was a travel guide aimed at queer men. The guides consisted of a list of all amenities and location categorized so that you knew exactly what you were in for. All this data is presented in two ways, the first is a map. This interactive map shows all of the USA state’s and has geographical coordinates all over the map that can be clicked on and get more information on specific spots. The map also has a filter section where you can pick the year, state, and location type (bars, hotel, ect…) The second way this data is shown is by having 32 pages of all the 785 entries. This includes all locations sorted alphabetically by name, year, city, and location amenities. These are both good ways of presenting data but I prefer the interactive map more.
This site is very user- friendly. It has 9 pages, all of them very helpful in learning more about this project and their process. They keep it really minimal with the color pallets of the website keeping most of the color on their logo. I think that the way the site is structured no one should encounter any complications. I don’t think this project is directed at a clear audience, I do believe that this project is meant to serve people who are interested in learning about queer history or accessing queer spaces. This site does a good job at accommodating for those people but it doesn’t have much information beside locations. I think this is a good starting point for a history project but it wouldn’t do much but add context.
The LGBT community has an extensive history of being marginalized. Their population is fragmented as well, in part due to AIDS/HIV epidemic. A website like this helps rebuild the queer community by allowing others to gauge the level of gay culture in an area. This site has taught me a lot, my biggest take away from reviewing this site is the Damron address books. I had heard about the green books but this is something I had never heard about at all. This site does a really great job of sharing information in a way that is interactive and informative.