Donald
F.
Reuter,
the
author
known
for
"Gaydar:
The
Ultimate
Guide
to
the
Gay
Sixth
Sense,"
"Shirtless!"
and
"Heartthrob,"
just
can’t
turn
off
his
storytelling
switch.
Even
when
asked
to
describe
the
genesis
of
his
newest
book,
"Greetings
from
the
Gayborhood,"
his
answer
is
in
the
form
of
a
narrative.
A
dozen
historic
neighborhoods
are
chronicled
in
the
scrapbook-style
book,
including
Midtown
Atlanta.
Reuter
says
he
got
the
idea
to
document
the
neighborhoods,
which
were
once
almost
exclusively
gay
and
are
becoming
more
gentrified,
while
overlooking
a
construction
site
in
a
Florida
neighborhood.
“I
was
in
a
men-only
clothing-optional
resort
in
Fort
Lauderdale,
looking
from
the
balcony
to
the
view
ahead
on
an
absolutely
beautiful
day,”
Reuter
says.
“That’s
when
I
saw
the
cranes
on
an
oceanfront
condo
development
that
was
too
big
for
the
area
and
would
ruin
the
integrity
of
that
particular
neighborhood.
"I
knew
the
writing
was
on
the
wall.
These
areas
were
disappearing
fast,
and
I
decided
to
write
their
stories.”
WHEN
REUTER
BEGAN
his
research,
he
found
that
despite
the
existence
of
archival
libraries,
gathering
the
artifacts
that
make
up
gay
neighborhood
history
took
a
lot
of
detective
work.
He
says
that
in
the
pre-1990s,
lack
of
societal
acceptance
resulted
in
gathering
spots
for
gay
people
that
were
at
best
taboo,
at
worst
illegal.
Many
times
the
only
indicators
that
would
mark
a
neighborhood
as
gay
were
underground
bars,
which
didn’t
last
forever
and
very
rarely
took
into
account
their
historical
relevance
as
they
disappeared.
“Gay
history
is
not
really
easy
to
find,"
Reuter
says.
"As
I’d
visit
the
neighborhoods
for
the
book,
lots
of
times,
the
only
real
evidence
would
be
a
matchbook
or
cocktail
napkin
—
not
created
to
be
permanent.
Ten,
20,
30
years
ago,
no
one
took
photos
in
a
gay
bar.”
"Greetings
from
the
Gayborhood"
is
filled
from
cover
to
cover
with,
as
Reuter
put
it,
“those
strange
little
objects.”
IT
TOOK
REUTER
MORE
THAN
a
year
and
a
half
a
half
of
detective
work
to
get
the
items
featured
in
the
book,
and
archival
libraries
were
merely
a
starting
point.
“Ebay
was
amazing,"
he
remembers.
"I
used
Craigslist
and
had
lots
of
personal
meetings.
The
frequently
nomadic
existence
of
a
single
gay
man
meant
a
guy
in
California
might
have
artifacts
from
several
other
cities.”
The
other
challenge
was
the
sexually
explicit
nature
of
much
of
gay
history.
Reuter
says
that
for
many
gay
men
in
the
past,
pornography
was
one
of
the
only
ways
to
get
gay-specific
information.
Of
course,
things
are
different
now,
and
as
gentrification
dilutes
the
character
of
all
types
of
neighborhoods,
Reuter
says
economic
effects
characterize
gayborhoods
in
a
different
way.
Real
estate
investors
now
look
to
gay
areas
as
the
next
hot
spot
for
development.
He
says
some
"gay
neighborhoods"
are
particularly
interesting
because
they
became
known
only
after
gay
establishments
emerged
from
underground.
Reuter
was
in
Atlanta's
gayborhood
last
weekend,
for
a
reading
and
signing
at
Outwrite,
which
carries
the
book.
But
where
will
you
find
him
next?
Reuter
says
if
"Greetings
from
the
Gayborhood"
does
well,
look
for
his
next
project,
a
companion
book
archiving
the
history
of
gay
resorts.
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