In 1970, Petie Brown, a trumpeter and young lesbian, got a part-time bartending job at Jack’s A Go-Go to support her aspiring singing career. Word spread fast that a lesbian was behind the bar, and soon Jack’s began attracting lesbian women in scores. Petie left the bar along the way, but the word was out, and the bar’s owners welcomed the lesbian patrons. When the bar came up for sale 10 years later, Petie rounded up every penny she had and bought it. In 1980 she renamed it Summit Station, established it as a safe space for lesbians and friends, and thus was born Ohio’s longest-running lesbian bar. As Petie tells it, it was one of the first three lesbian bars in the United States. Forty-two years after the opening of the bar, a small group of former patrons banded together to pay tribute to Petie and the bar. In partnership with the Ohio History Connection a historical marker will be placed permanently in front of the space that held Summit Station.

The marker will be dedicated on June 10, 2023.The marker will be dedicated on Saturday June 10, 2023 from between 1:15-2:00 p.m. Celebration performances will take place on the sidewalk outside the bar and in The Summit Music Hall, the space formerly known as Jack’s/Summit Station. This event is a co-production of Fast Friday Productions, Friends of Summit Station, Lesbians Benefitting the Arts, and Girlz Rhythm and Rock Camp. The event is made possible in part by donations to the Go Fund Me, the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University and Columbus City Council.

Register for the dedication events here:

https://www.tickettailor.com/…/friendsofsummitstation…