On a Sunday morning in 1964, police raided the Eighth Day Coffee House, a queer social club located in downtown Phoenix. Over twenty arrests were made, with officers citing reasons from “lewd and lascivious acts” to “drunk-and-disorderly conduct.” The names of the victims were printed in the paper, causing jobs to be lost, families to be ruined, and lives to be destroyed. This was not an isolated event; Phoenix Police made a concerted effort to seek out and arrest members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Today, where Eighth Day Coffee House once stood is an empty lot, with little evidence remaining of the incident.

The empty lot where Eighth Day Coffee House once stood. (Source: Marshall Shore.)