March 29, 2024 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

Remembering The Factory’s Glory Days

You might know the phrase The Factory as something belonging to Andy Warhol. But, once upon a time in 1974, not so mild-mannered for an optometrist Scott Forbes opened a gay club in L.A. called Studio One at The Factory. Originally built in 1929 as a space for the Mitchell Camera Corporation, the irony of the edifice eventually becoming a haven for the gay community of West Hollywood was that, by 1946, it was said that 85 percent of all movies distributed in theaters were filmed using Mitchell cameras.

Considering the gay obsession with Hollywood despite its flagrant lack of representation of anything other than the heteronormative and phony baloney, it bears noting what The Factory in its original incarnation once housed.

As an important historical landmark and institution of the West Hollywood and West Coast gay scene, Studio One would support one of the first major AIDS fundraisers of the decade for AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1984, with, incidentally, Joan Rivers being the only celebrity willing to participate in the affair. She would, naturally, receive several death threats for her involvement – but Joan was nothing if not a badass bitch unafraid of knives and mortality (so long as she still looked good when crossing to the other side). Lloyd Coleman, who worked with Forbes to form Rocket Entertainment during the Studio One era, commented, “Rivers was, up until that point, the only person who ever did anything to raise money to help fight AIDS or help people with AIDS. There were no drugs, the only thing you could do is help them, comfort them during dying. It was all they could do… raise money for hospice.”

Things have come a long way since then, and Coleman thinks that the latest iteration of The Factory would do justice to Forbes’ vision and enthusiasm for catering to the needs of the neighborhood. With the threat of The Factory coming into possession of West Hollywood-based real estate company Faring, panic spread among those who valued the integrity of the storied structure. Coleman, too, became alarmed as he joined a coalition called SAVE THE FACTORY a couple years back, only to change his mind as he further researched the company’s intentions and decided, “Faring had the same plans that I did – to preserve the history of the building and its patrons while incorporating it into their development, and to re-create a venue not only for future entertainers, but as a living museum for what it once was.

In the process, that would bring many of us who lived, breathed and worked Studio One back together again in a common cause.”

Like so many who have trouble with change, Faring has been met with more than its fair share of skepticism, but as Coleman put it, “The Factory has a real future again. Not just as a living ‘museum’ of Studio One, but as a showroom and gathering place of the future. Preservation comes in many forms. Buildings can be frozen in time to just look at. Or they can be re-purposed, even modernized.”

in HISTORY
Related Posts

WeHo Commemorates Transgender Day of Remembrance 2021

November 30, 2021

November 30, 2021

The City of West Hollywood commemorated Transgender Day of Rememberance through a virtual event.  Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is...

WeHo Approves Resolution Recognizing November As Native American Heritage Month

November 10, 2021

November 10, 2021

The City of West Hollywood City Council has approved a Resolution recognizing November as Native American Heritage Month. The Resolution...

New Documentary Pays Tribute to Transgender ‘AIDS diva’ Connie Norman

October 26, 2021

October 26, 2021

A new documentary titled “AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman,” will pay tribute to the transgender leader in AIDS...

WeHo Asking For Community Input On Naming Request to Rename the West Hollywood Library

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

The City of West Hollywood is conducting a community survey to solicit public input about a naming request to rename...

Patrick O’Connell, AIDS Activist, Dead At 67

May 6, 2021

May 6, 2021

Patrick O’Connell, a venerable AIDS activist and creator of the iconic red ribbon creating awareness about the disease, has died...

Ivy Bottini – WeHo Icon & LGBTQ Advocate Dies

March 14, 2021

March 14, 2021

Ivy Bottini an artist, mother and a legendary activist, devoting over 50 years to the feminist & LGBTQ  struggle for...

Black History Month: Celebrating Bayard Rustin

January 31, 2021

January 31, 2021

Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Due to criticism...

WeHo Will Commemorate MLK Jr. Day With Virtual Donation Drive

January 17, 2021

January 17, 2021

In January 2021, the City of West Hollywood will continue its tradition of joining hundreds of communities across the country...

City Of WeHo Celebrates Veterans Day 2020

November 8, 2020

November 8, 2020

The City of West Hollywood will honor veterans and active members of the United States Armed Forces during a virtual...

USC One Archives to Host Screening of Film on Black Trans Woman to Honor Black History Month

February 1, 2020

February 1, 2020

Meet Mary Jones, a black transgender woman born in New York in 1803. Described as a “man-monster” in the press. ...

VIDEO: South Coast Chorale’s Tribute to Gay & Civil Rights Activist

January 24, 2020

January 24, 2020

67 years ago, openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin was arrested on a discriminatory, anti-gay “lewd conduct” charge for...

Honoring Gay Rights & Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin

January 21, 2020

January 21, 2020

On this day in history 67 years ago, gay civil rights organizer Bayard Rustin was arrested on a discriminatory, anti-gay...

GAY LA: When Catherine Opie Ruled LA

November 14, 2019

November 14, 2019

By Henry Giardina In the first season of the original “L Word,” art plays a bizarrely large role. For a...

Documentary Honors Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ Vets for Veterans Day

November 11, 2019

November 11, 2019

In honor of Veterans Day, some LGBT Senior Veterans at the Los Angeles LGBT Center shared their stories and experiences...

GAY LA – When Drag Was All the Rage (But Queerness Wasn’t)

August 6, 2019

August 6, 2019

Today, it’s not hard to find drag culture wherever you are. From VH1, to Netflix, to Twitter, the language of...