Pulse (nightclub)

Pulse

Photo of a white low-rise building and parking lot.

The nightclub's exterior in 2006
Full name Pulse Orlando
Address 1912 South Orange Avenue
Location Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates 28°31′11″N 81°22′37″W / 28.51961°N 81.37683°W / 28.51961; -81.37683Coordinates: 28°31′11″N 81°22′37″W / 28.51961°N 81.37683°W / 28.51961; -81.37683
Owner
  • Barbara Poma
  • Ron Legler
Opened July 2, 2004 (2004-07-02)
Website
PulseOrlandoClub.com

Pulse was a gay bar, dance club, and nightclub in Orlando, Florida, founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. On June 12, 2016, the club gained international attention as it was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the events of September 11, 2001. 49 people were killed and 53 were injured. There are plans to convert the premises into a memorial dedicated to the victims.

Description

A group of people wearing Pulse logo shirts parade down a brick street carrying a banner with the club's logo on it. An individual dressed as Robin from Batman leads the procession.
Pulse representation at Come Out with Pride, 2009

Pulse hosted themed performances each night and had a monthly program featuring educational events geared towards the LGBT community.[1] According to Orlando Weekly, Pulse featured "three glitzy, throbbing rooms of club boys, twinks and twinks at heart. Every night has something different in store, but Pulse is known to have some pretty impressive drag shows, and the bar's dancers are usually gorgeous."[2] Because of the three areas, Lonely Planet Discover Florida deemed it "three nightclubs",[3] while their Florida volume focused on it being "ultramodern".[4]

Top 10 Orlando called it a "firm favorite for the Orlando gay crowd",[5] The Rough Guide to Florida deemed it "justifiably popular", citing its "great lighting and sound plus cabaret performers, drag acts, and erotic dancers."[6] Pulse was the only gay club mentioned in The Rough Guide to the USA for Orlando.[7] According to listings, the entire premises, including the washrooms, are accessible.[8] Using "periodic consumer surveys", Zagat rated Pulse 25/30 for atmosphere, 25/30 decor, and 22/30 service.[9]

History

President Obama stands behind a lectern delivering a speech.
Obama stating Pulse was a refuge for LGBT and Puerto Rican people

Before Pulse was founded, 1912 South Orange Avenue was home to the Sarasota Herald Company, a daily newspaper in the 1930s.[10] In 1985, it was Lorenzo's, a pizza restaurant.[11] By 1999, it was called Dante's, a bar with live music.[12] Dante's closed in January 2003.[13]

Founded by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler, Pulse opened on July 2, 2004.[14][1][15] Poma's brother, John, died in 1991 from AIDS, and the club is "named for John's pulse to live on", according to a marketing staff member in February 2016.[16][17] The venue has a focus on local talent.[17] Poma ensured that her brother's memory was prominent on the website, that the facility was more than "just another gay club".[16] Legler was President of the Florida Theatrical Association at the time of foundation, and founded two nightclubs in Lake Eola Park in 2010, leaving for Baltimore in 2011.[18] The Washington Post described its first 12 years as "a community hub for HIV prevention, breast-cancer awareness and immigrant rights", and reported it had partnered with educational and advocacy groups such as Come Out with Pride, Equality Florida, and the Zebra Coalition.[16]

June 2016 shooting

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson visits Pulse and the makeshift memorial outside of it on the three-month anniversary of the shooting

On June 12, 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a mass shooting. The attack is the deadliest single gunman mass shooting in United States history,[19][20][21][22][23] the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history,[24] and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the September 11 attacks of 2001.[25][26][27]

In November 2016, the city of Orlando agreed to buy the nightclub for $2.25 million. Mayor Buddy Dyer expressed plans to convert the nightclub into a memorial to honor the memory of the victims.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hjelmgaard, Kim (June 12, 2016). "Scene of mass shooting more than 'just another gay club'". USA Today. Gannett Company. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Orlando gay bars". Orlando Weekly. Euclid Media Group. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Adam Karlin; Jeff Campbell; Jennifer Rasin Denniston; Emily Matchar (June 1, 2012). Lonely Planet Discover Florida. Lonely Planet. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-74321-015-4.
  4. ↑ Adam Karlin; Jennifer Rasin Denniston; Paula Hardy; Benedict Walker (December 1, 2014). Lonely Planet Florida. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 615. ISBN 978-1-74360-250-8.
  5. ↑ Cynthia Tunstall; Jim Tunstall (August 1, 2012). Top 10 Orlando. DK Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7566-9461-6.
  6. ↑ Rough Guides (August 3, 2009). The Rough Guide to Florida (8th ed.). Penguin Group. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4053-8013-3. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Samantha Cook (March 1, 2011). The Rough Guide to the USA. Rough Guides. p. 1082. ISBN 978-1-4053-8954-9.
  8. ↑ Frances Green (April 1, 2012). Gayellow Pages USA #34 2012-2013. Renaissance House. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-885404-28-2.
  9. ↑ "PULSE - Zagat Review". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Sarasota Herald". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 5, 1936. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Sherman, Chris. "What's Cooking in Pizza Circles". The Orlando Sentinel. July 19, 1985.
  12. ↑ Joseph, Scott. "A Fortuitous Fusion". The Orlando Sentinel. February 26, 1999.
  13. ↑ Gray, Tyler. "Caught in Headlightz: Bar Changes Act". The Orlando Sentinel. January 17, 2003.
  14. ↑ Matthews, Mark K. "Pulse's Space a New Odyssey for Chic". The Orlando Sentinel. July 9, 2004.
  15. ↑ West, James (June 12, 2016). "Orlando's Pulse Nightclub Was Founded by a Woman Whose Brother Died from AIDS". Mother Jones. Foundation for National Progress. ISSN 0362-8841. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 "Orlando's club Pulse owes its name and spirit to 'loving brother' who died from AIDS". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  17. 1 2 "The Pulse of Orlando". Next. February 3, 2013.
  18. ↑ Sentinel, Orlando. "Ron Legler, 'champion' of downtown and the arts, leaving Orlando". Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Fifty dead in Orlando gay nightclub shooting, worst mass killing in modern U.S. history; gunman reportedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State". Los Angeles Times. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  20. ↑ Lyons, Kate (June 12, 2016). "Orlando Pulse club attack: gunman behind shooting that killed 49 'named as Omar Mateen'". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Gunman in nightclub shooting had been investigated for terrorist links". CBC News. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  22. ↑ Beckett, Lois (June 12, 2016). "Orlando nightclub attack is deadliest US mass shooting in modern history". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  23. ↑ Yeung, Peter (June 12, 2016). "Gunman's 'terror attack' on gay nightclub leaves 50 dead". The Independent. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ Stern, Mark Joseph (June 12, 2016). "The Long, Tragic History of Violence at LGBTQ Bars and Clubs in America". Slate. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  25. ↑ Fantz, Ashley; Karimi, Faith; McLaughlin, Eliott C. (June 12, 2016). "50 killed in Florida nightclub, shooter pledged ISIS allegiance". CNN. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Obama: Orlando An Act Of 'Terror And Hate'". Sky News. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  27. ↑ Swanson, Ann (June 12, 2016). "The Orlando attack could transform the picture of post-9/11 terrorism in America". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  28. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (9 November 2016). "City of Orlando Buying Pulse Nightclub to Create Memorial". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 November 2016.

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