Pride Center of the Capital Region

The Pride Center of the Capital Region is the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ+ community center in the country. Located at 332 Hudson Ave. in Albany, NY, the center has offered its diverse community a variety of resources, programs, and services since 1970. 

Partnership with the New York State Museum

To commemorate the Pride Center’s 50th anniversary in 2020, the New York State Museum partnered with the Center to collect oral histories from members of the community, ultimately resulting in the creation of a panel exhibition and recorded interviews that were featured in the Pride Center’s 50th Anniversary Documentary.

Pride Center Panel Exhibition at the NYSM

On view at the NYSM from June 1, 2021, to September 1, 2021, the panel exhibition combined elements from the recorded oral histories of its community members with images and information from the Pride Center archives housed in the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York.

View/Download the Panel Exhibition (PDF):

Pride Center’s 50th Anniversary Documentary

Pride Center Recorded Oral Histories

In 2020, on the occasion of the Pride Center’s 50th anniversary, the New York State Museum partnered with the Pride Center to record oral history interviews with community members. These conversations provided not only information on the founding of the Pride Center and the role it played in the community but also glimpses into the lives of LGBTQ+ people in Albany. Full interview recordings and transcripts are in the collection of the New York State Museum and are available to researchers. Presented below are a collection of clips from selected interviews, edited for length.

GARY PAVLIC

Gary Pavlic was among the founding members of the Pride Center, and later served as Board President. He discusses the creation of the Pride Center, its early days, and the purchase of the building at 332 Hudson Avenue in Albany, NY. He also touches on the early bar scene in Albany and the lives affected by the AIDS crisis.

 

KEN SCREVEN

Ken Screven, who attended Pride Center events and meetings, and who later lived near the Pride Center, spoke about the double discrimination he faced as a Black gay man, and the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the LGBTQ+ community in Albany.

 

Gwen Wright

Gwen Wright served on the board of the Pride Center during a time when it underwent tremendous institutional change, including changing its name from the Capital District Gay and Lesbian Community Council to the Pride Center of the Capital Region.

 

JOANNE MATTERA

Joanne Mattera, who attended events and meetings at the Pride Center, spoke on some of the early women’s centered meetings held in the Pride Center in the 1970s. 

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