THE TURRET
The Turret Arts Space (Khyber Building)
1588 Barrington Street, Halifax, NS.
1588 Barrington Street has always been vital to Halifax’s queer community; the GAE/GALA (Gay Alliance for Equality/Gay and Lesbian Alliance) operated The Turret Club and various community spaces within from 1976 to 1983. The queer owned and operated business, and sometimes only gay bar in Halifax was the epicentre of queer activism, socialization, and culture. In 1982, the Turret moved to a new address and reopened as Rumours. A previous iteration of the NSCAD Queer Collective hosted a Turret Resurrection in March of 2013 and invited the the community back into the building to celebrate it’s 125th birthday and rich queer history. The Turret Arts Space Society is currently in the process of reopening the space as a hub for arts, culture, and queer community.
Turret logo
Creator: Rand Gaynor
Date: Date unknown- 1970s
Original format: Digitized Drawing
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Turret Interior
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: Date unknown- late 1970s
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of “Three Monkeys” placards designed by James MacSwain as part of a protest against perceived acts of censorship by Canada Customs, the CBC, and the Ontario Provincial Police
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: 1979
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Turret Exterior
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: 1978
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of a page from the GAE newsletter, Have You Heard
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: 1979
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of drag event invite
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: 1979
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Ezzie and friends
Creator: James DeYoung
Date: Date unknown
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Lily Champagne (Randolph Kennedy)
Creator: Photographer Unknown
Date: 1979
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Mary Ann Mancini protesting outside the CBC building after the local CBC radio station refused to broadcast a public service announcement for the Gay Alliance's helpline
Creator: Robin Metcalfe
Date: 1977
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Ezzie Singing
Creator: Photographer unknown
Date: Date unknown
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Ginger and Lily Champagne
Creator: Photographer unknown
Date: 1981
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Photo of Jerry and Travis
Creator: Photographer unknown
Date: Unknown
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.
Group at the Turret
Creator: Emerald Gibson
Date: Unknown
Original format: Photograph
Photo credit: Personal collection of Emerald Gibson
Photo of Sugar
Creator: Emerald Gibson
Date: Unknown
Original format: Photograph
Photo credit: Personal collection of Emerald Gibson.
Photo of Ezzie as “Sweet Transvestite” and Kiki
Creator: James DeYoung
Date: Date unknown
Original format: Photograph
Allie Jaynes, "The Turret: Unlocking Halifax's gay history", Atavist.ca, accessed October 4, 2020, https://creatavist-turret.atavist.com/theturret.