Photo by Brian Sullivan
By Lauren Means, Selena Haynes, and Brian Sullivan
“I never did any of this thinking, you know, that I would be honored for it. It was just life at that time.” That is what Michael “Dolly” Wilson, 75, said when asked about the dedication of a historical marker at Warehouse 28.
On Friday, June 14, the Metro Nashville Historical Commission unveiled Nashville’s third historical marker related to LGBTQ+ history. This marker honors the importance of Warehouse 28 as a gay bar, safe gathering space, and vital resource during the AIDS epidemic.
Warehouse 28, located at 2529 Franklin Pike in Nashville, was a dance club and bar founded by Steve Smith and Wilson, his partner, on April 13, 1979. When Wilson first moved to Nashville he was discouraged. “After about two weeks, I wanted to go back to [Washington] D.C.,” Wilson recalled. “There was just absolutely no gay life.”
Wilson met with the local gay rights group but everything he would bring up and suggest, like a gay rights parade, would inevitably get shot down. “It was it was scary to be invisible. So I thought well, I can’t deal with these folks,” he said. So he took matters into his own hands. He and Smith started putting events together.
A step toward visibility
They helped organize the first gay gathering outside of a gay bar. They set up at Percy Warner Park at the farthest picnic area where they were less likely to be seen. Wilson explained it wasn’t his ideal choice for location but that was okay as it was a step forward to change everything. “There were about 300 people that showed up. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, and we had a softball game. It lasted about four hours,” he said.
It was also the lack of gay life that drove Smith and Wilson to open Warehouse 28. The 28 in the name represents the date Smith and Wilson first met. They drew inspiration from Wilson’s hometown bar in D.C., The Club House. Warehouse 28 was a hot spot for drag performances and major events, like the Miss Gay South U.S.A. pageant’s preliminary contests.
Owning a gay club in the 70s and 80s saw more pushback than we see today, but Wilson and Smith took it all in stride. “It was just part of the progress,” Wilson explained. They had their run-ins with law enforcement. Wilson said there was one cop in particular who would come in every few nights trying to start an argument over simple, basic things. He remembers they had their liquor license and other operational documentation posted and visible as required but this officer came in and said that the next time he was in he wanted to see everything moved to be posted on a different wall.
Wilson also recalled a time the police tried to shut them down for serving after closing. “We had closed and it was about 15 minutes after three [in the morning] and there was a knock on the door. There were 12 or 14 cops out there trying to say we were drinking liquor after the bar closed and were having sex.”
Not one to be intimidated, Wilson let them continue with their allegations and when they were done, he asked, “Who’s the supervisor? Who is in charge of all this?” One of the officers present stepped forward and said he was. To which Wilson said, “I promise you, if I have breath in my body, I will be down at the Mayor’s office tomorrow morning. I’m not tolerating this. You’re not going to come in here harassing gay people.”
And he did exactly that. Wilson went the next day and met with the Nashville Mayor. Five days later Wilson was informed the office who had been heading up the harassment had been reassigned and was never seen around the club again.
Creating a safe haven
Warehouse 28 was more than a bar. It was also where Nashville CARES got its start. Nashville CARES as we know it today is the premier HIV/AIDS service organization in Tennessee. Annually, CARES serves more than 50,000 people statewide and provides comprehensive services to clients throughout 17 counties in Middle Tennessee. They provide targeted education, free and confidential HIV testing and a broad range of comprehensive services to individuals who are at-risk for or living with HIV.
Back in 1985, it was Smith handing out condoms to bar patrons along with a self-curated newsletter explaining what he knew about HIV/AIDS. “I had a friend of mine who was the editor for the Washington Blade who wanted us to come up to Georgetown University [for a discussion about] a gay cancer they were alarmed about,” remembered Wilson. He and Smith attended the discussion and at the end, there was a question and answer session where Wilson asked how they thought this virus was being spread.
“I asked ‘How does a virus know you are gay?” It just didn’t make sense to me,” Wilson explained. He said they related it to poppers. Warehouse 28 sold poppers at the door but they immediately stopped selling them and Smith started sharing the information they had learned at the discussion at Georgetown with the Nashville community. Smith bought condoms and placed them at the bar. Wilson said he made sure everyone who came to the bar left with one of the newsletters in an effort to educate people.
What Smith was doing was the infancy of Nashville CARES. They began raising money through shows at the bar. The drag queens would donate some of the money they took in to go towards the project. They did this for five years before there was any government funding for organizations like CARES. The funds raised would go to HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and education.
And while Wilson did not expect recognition for anything he and Smith did over the years, he says he is extremely proud and kind of surprised. He said they worked hard to make sure the gay community in Nashville was visible. He recalled the first gay pride parade in Nashville covering four blocks with maybe a couple of hundred people lined up on the sidewalk.
When he reflected back to 2019, when the parade returned to Nashville, he became emotional. “Ron [Sanford] made a float and I drove the pickup truck. When I came up and crossed over Broadway, I looked down and got emotional. Seeing all those people knowing I had a hand in producing that. It was a blessing that did so much for my heart and soul,” Wilson said.
Honoring the legacy
At the marker unveiling, Laura Rost, Vice Chair of the Metro Nashville Historical Commission, remarked, “Pride month is celebrated each June with many fun and festive events but we must also remember our past and those, like Steve and Dolly, who were trailblazers, even if we didn’t know it at the time.”
“When Steve and Michael opened Warehouse 28 right here on Franklin Road, the gay disco served as a social support and sanctuary that Nashville so desperately needed,” remarked Patrick Hamilton, LGBTQ Liaison from the Office of Mayor Freddie O’Connell. He also noted, “Steve and Michael’s Warehouse 28 became an important part of the Nashville CARES story and our city’s fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”
John Bridges with the Metro Nashville Historical Commission, said, “I met all my dear friends here through the blur of cigarette smoke and poppers. Some of them are still with us and some of them are dead. Almost everybody who came to the Warehouse was taking a risk. Some of us were lucky. Some of us were not.” But it was through these trying times something good was formed. “Everybody worked together… imagine such a thing. And that led to the founding of Nashville CARES,” said Bridges.
“As a member of the Metro Historical Commission, we are glad to make this our third LGBTQ historical marker in Davidson County,” said Dr. Marisa Richmond of the Metro Nashville Historical Commission.
Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) acknowledged the importance of having these markers dedicated by saying, “It’s more important than ever to recognize those who came before us and fought for equality and whose legacy we are continuing to follow.”
No rest for the weary
Now living in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Wilson still has the advocacy bug. He is now getting ready to help launch Punta Cana Pride’s first Gay Pride Parade. His biggest urging now is for people, especially the younger generation, to get out and vote. He has a concern over Project 2025, which is a conservative agenda that Wilson says illustrates how they want to guide the future. “They are coming after us. They are coming after us in the worst ways,” he said. So do your part and vote.
To donate to Punta Cana Pride, click here.
To learn about the first LGBTQ+ Historical Marker honoring Penny Campbell click here.
To read about the second LGBTQ+ historical site marker for The Jungle and Juanita’s click here.
To learn more about the Nashville Historic Marker program click here.
To learn about Nashville’s Queer History click here.
