Safe spaces at their most basic function as places free of discrimination, harassment, and harm, but they also serve to provide a sense of emotional well-being and community. These spaces are vital to marginalized communities like the LGBTQIA+ community whose members may not experience feeling safe physically or mentally in their daily lives. St. Louis is often described as a “queer oasis” in comparison to the surrounding conservatism in Missouri, but this does not diminish the need for places of respite where members of the community can come together safely and celebrate their identities. The following objects seek to highlight some of these spaces and express the important role they play for the queer community in St. Louis.

This poster was created by Explore St. Louis to promote the area of The Grove as a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ tourists. The Grove is well-known as a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community and functions as a sort of safe haven for not only queer acceptance but celebration in the city. This ad specifically emphasizes the sense of “belonging” the queer community can find in The Grove. Though this poster is from 2009 the area still remains a staple for many members of the community.

In this interview a member of the LGBTQ+ community reflects on how queer accessibility has changed over the past 30 years. She explains that in the 90’s South Grand shopping district was really the only area for queer people to gather, and only a small number of other shops scattered around. During her lifetime the availability of queer spaces has blossomed and there are now entire neighborhoods considered safe spaces. She also expresses an overall increase in her feeling of safety as a queer woman in St. Louis.

This jacket promotes Angles, a LGBTQ+ nightclub started in the late 1980’s. The club was located on Chouteau Ave in the Midtown area of St. Louis. It was later rebranded The Complex until its closing in 2011. This jacket was a gift from the owner of Angles, Howard Meyer, to Dan Byington, the owner of the gay piano bar the Drake which operated near Angles.

This button, handed out at the 2023 St. Louis Pride, promotes the St. Louis Zoo as a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community. The addition of the pride flag and the zoo logo allows people all over to see that the zoo is a fun and family-friendly space and an accepting and proud supporter of minorities.

Sydnie gives a view into their Pride experiences, and what safe spaces they believe are in St. Louis. They describe their queer experiences in other parts of Missouri, stating that St. Louis as a whole is one of the only “queer oases” in the Midwest currently, and mourning the state of the queer experience in the Midwest today. This perspective of St. Louis itself being a safe space gives a new perspective into the definition of safe spaces and illuminates the importance of queer visibility in the Midwest today.

A 1996 flier for an annual picnic in Tower Grove Park promoting safety and acceptance for all “sexual minorities.” This flier gives one a view into the longstanding safety of Tower Grove Park for the LGBTQIA+ community. A multicultural Christian ministry called Other Sheep, held this event as a way to promote love and acceptance of those typically shunned by many Christian communities. Using Tower Grove Park to host this picnic allowed those in the LGBTQIA+ community to feel the park was– and still is– a safe place in St. Louis.

MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse, located on the corner of Arsenal Street and South Grand Boulevard, established itself as a hangout spot within the LGBTQ+ community, starting in 1992 and evolving with time. A “queer-owned and operated” business, the seating area contains local support resources for the underprivileged, such as fliers, hotlines, and protest signs, among other objects.

Mississippi Underground is a downtown St. Louis music venue and banquet hall that predominantly hosts EDM and rave events, including the locally popular Materia shows, which have become popular with the LGBTQIA+ community.

Founded in 2013, Metro Trans Umbrella Group paved its way as a local resource for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly as a go-to source for advocacy and support for the St. Louis transgender community. Situated in Benton Park West along Oregon Avenue in a classic late 19th-century St. Louis-style brick home, the organization’s intent to provide warmth and immediate resources to the trans community immediately becomes apparent.