Photograph of Colleen Bellew (left, standing) wearing a cowboy hat inside the Kings & Queens during a New Years Eve party. She is blowing a noise maker. Paula Mencarini, also wearing a hat, is standing on the right.

Photograph of a person in a clown Halloween costume. They are seated on a stool inside the Kings & Queens next to a pinball machine. The clown is smoking a cigarette. The clown is seated in the center of the photograph and is looking directly at the camera.

Photograph of a jack-o-lantern on top of the cigarette machine inside the Kings & Queens. The jack-o-lantern is facing the camera. On the right side of the image, a handmade sign is present on the wall.

Photograph of Royal Court softball team members Christine Coulombe and Renee Champagne performing at the Royal Court softball team fundraising event. The couple are performing "All I Ask of You" from the musical, "Phantom of the Opera." The couple are the winners of the Lip Syncing contest.

Photograph of Kings & Queens patron, Chris Rose, comically posing for the camera while wearing a white plastic lei.

Photograph of Kings & Queens patron, Chris Bell, inside the Kings & Queens. This is a candid photo with Chris glancing towards the camera mid-conversation. Behind him, fall decorations are on the walls.

Photograph of Cheryl, Kim Deacon (center), and Kathy. Cheryl and Kathy are unidentified. The three are seated at a table with drinks placed on it. The three are smiling and looking towards the camera. The woman on the left side of the images is smiling with her eyes closed, looking down.

Photograph of Kings & Queens patron, Cheryl Johnson, seated inside a home in front of an open window. Cheryl is in the center of the photograph facing the camera and smiling.

Photograph of Royal Court softball team member, Cheryl Dupree (center), standing in a group with two women. Cheryl is standing in the center of the group with a woman on her left and on her right. Cheryl points at the camera while the women embrace her. The group is standing next to a rack of pool cues. Behind them, other bar patrons are seen. There are silver reflective stars decorating the walls of the bar.

Photograph of Royal Court softball team members Cheryl Dupre and Co standing inside the Kings & Queens during a New Years Eve party. The two are are looking towards each other. Co is holding a drink in her hand. Behind them, a handmade banner that says "Makin Happy" in silver glitter is hanging on the wall with "1992" present underneath. On the right side of the image, a snowman decoration is hanging on the wall. Behind Cheryl and Co, other patrons are present.

Photograph of Charlene "Kooch" Koochman seated in an armchair in a living room. She is facing the camera and smiling while she holds a cigarette. She is wearing a Block Island sweatshirt.

Photograph of Carol O'Shaughnessy. Carol O'Shaughnessy was an occasional performer at the Kings & Queens. This is the performer's headshot. She is looking over her shoulder at the camera and smiling.

Photograph of Kings & Queens patron, Carol Kerny (L), with her arm around an unidentified friend inside of the Kings & Queens. The two are seated and smiling as they look towards the camera. Behind them, blue streamers hang down the walls.

Photograph of Kings & Queens patrons, Carol Hanlin and Karen Dupis. Carol is on the left side of the image and Karen is on the right. Karen has her hand around Carol with her eyes closed. Carol looks at the camera smiling.

Photograph of Royal Court softball team members, Carol and Kathy, lip syncing. This event is for a fundraiser for the softball team. Carol and Kathy are both wearing leather jackets, sunglasses, and motorcycle helmets as they are seated on children's bikes for the song.

Photograph of two women talking with former Kings & Queens bar owner, Rita Paux. This is a candid photo taken inside the Kings & Queens during the 1983 New Years Eve party. Rita (left) is engaged in a conversation with a woman on the right. Behind them, another woman is jumping making a peace sign at the camera. Red and silver balloons and streamers decorate the bar.

Photograph of two of the men who were decorating the first Pride Parade float for the Kings & Queens. The men are standing in Cathedral Square and are facing the right side of the image. The leftmost man has his hands on his hips and the man to his right is wearing sunglasses.

Photograph of patrons seated at the Kings & Queens. In the foreground of the photograph, two women are present. One woman is seated looking off camera. Another woman is seated behind her with her hands rested on the shoulder of the woman in front. Surrounding them, other patrons are present. Two men standing behind them, and another person seated off camera.

Photograph of the 1981 New Year's Eve party inside the Kings & Queens. In this photo, various bar patrons are seen seated at different tables. In the center foreground, a woman turned around in her chair looking over her shoulder is present. In the background, two men hugging are seen. There are balloons and reflective ribbons hanging from the ceiling.

Photograph of drag queen, B.B. Hayes, performed by Brian Laquerre at the Kings & Queens. This photograph shows B.B. seated with a man. The two are looking at an unseen person off camera on the right side of the image. B.B. is smiling.

Photograph of the bar at the Kings & Queens. This is a candid photograph showing the back of a patron's head. Behind the bar, liquor bottles are present. Above the liquor bottles, there are hand made paper fangs hanging on the mirror.

Photograph of the 1983 New Years Eve party inside the Kings & Queens. There are silver and red balloons and streamers decorating the ceiling and walls of the party. On the left side of the image, two women are seen embracing and kissing.

Photograph of a New Years Eve party inside the Kings & Queens. This is a candid photo and shows a woman seated on another woman's lap in the foreground. In the background, reflective streamers hanging from the ceiling are present. Other bar patrons are present in the background seated at various tables.

Photograph of a Halloween party inside the Kings & Queens. This is a candid photograph that shows a crowded room full of party goers.

Photograph of the 1983 New Years Eve party inside the Kings & Queens. There are silver and red balloons and streamers decorating the ceiling and walls of the party. On the left side of the image, two women are seen embracing.

Photograph of a group of five people gathered inside the Kings & Queens. A woman in a red coat is seated in the middle of the group as four men are gathered around her. This is a candid photograph as they are all engaged in a conversation. Behind them, there are fall and Halloween decorations on the walls along with handmade posters advertising events.

Photograph of a buffet inside the Kings & Queens. The buffet is on the pool table. Above the buffet is a sign that reads "A Ghostly-Ghastly Halloween Friday October 25th $50.00 costume prize." There are monster masks hanging around the sign.

Photograph of Brien Perrico seated and laughing at a table inside the Kings & Queens. The woman on the right side of the image is holding a beer bottle. This is a candid photo and both people are not looking towards the camera. Behind them, there are silver reflective stars hanging on the wall. There is also a hand made poster advertising for the upcoming Milk Fund fundraiser.

Interview with Brian Belovitch. Brian is a writer, playwright, performer and survivor of HIV. He identifies as a gay man of trans experience. Topics in order of discussion include: moving to Providence from Fall River as a child; early awareness of identity; getting bullied by adults and children; cruising areas; early experiences at gay bars and doing drag; Lola Apartment building in Providence; coming out as gay and then as a trans woman; living with HIV; decision to transition again to gender at birth; addiction and becoming sober; sex work; gay social spaces in Providence. This interview was created as part of the Queer Stories Project - an oral history project developed by Dr. Virginia Thomas to train LGBTQIA young adults to conduct oral history interviews with LGBTQIA adults in Rhode Island. Management of the project was transferred to PPL in 2021. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Photograph of Bobby Brule dressed as a banana during B.B. Hayes' performance at A Night of Illusion: Tropical Summer Nights. Brule and Hayes are performing a Drag performance to Carmen Miranda's "Chiquita Banana." In the photograph, Hayes is standing on the right side of the image, gesturing towards Bobby Brule. Brule is on the left side of the image peeking out from inside of a banana costume. The Kings & Queens is decorated with bamboo and other tropical decorations. This photo is from a folder called "Some of our family who died of AIDS." Brule passed away circa 1988.