Pulse was a

gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...

, dance club, and

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. On June 12, 2016, the club was the scene of the second-deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Forty-nine people were killed and 58 other people were injured.

Description

Pulse hosted themed performances each night and had a monthly program featuring educational events geared towards the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

. According to ''

Orlando Weekly ''Orlando Weekly'' is a liberal progressive alternative newsweekly distributed in the Greater Orlando area of Florida. Every Thursday, 40,000 issues of the paper are distributed to more than 1,100 locations across Orange, Osceola and Semino ...

'', Pulse featured "three glitzy, throbbing rooms of club boys, twinks and twinks at heart. Every night has something different in store, but Pulse is known to have some pretty impressive drag shows, and the bar's dancers are usually gorgeous." Because of the three areas, ''

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

Discover Florida'' deemed it "three nightclubs," while their ''Florida'' volume focused on it being "ultramodern." ''Top 10 Orlando'' called it a "firm favorite for the Orlando gay crowd," ''The

Rough Guide Rough Guides is a travel company that offers tailor-made trips planned and arranged by local travel experts based in destinations around the world. Originally established as a guidebook publisher in 1982, Rough Guides expanded into customized t ...

to Florida'' deemed it "justifiably popular," citing its "great lighting and sound plus cabaret performers, drag acts, and erotic dancers." Pulse was the only gay club mentioned in ''The Rough Guide to the USA'' for Orlando. According to listings, the entire premises, including the washrooms, were accessible. Using "periodic consumer surveys," Zagat rated Pulse 25/30 for atmosphere, 25/30 decor, and 22/30 service.

History

In 1985—prior to Pulse's founding—the property located at 1912 South Orange Avenue was home to a pizza restaurant named Lorenzo's. By 1999, it was called Dante's, a bar with live music. Dante's closed in January 2003. Founded by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler, Pulse opened on July 2, 2004.Matthews, Mark K.
Pulse's Space a New Odyssey for Chic
". ''The Orlando Sentinel''. July 9, 2004. Poma's brother, John, died in 1991 from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, and the club is "named for John's pulse to live on," according to a marketing staff member in February 2016. The venue had a focus on local talent. Poma ensured that her brother's memory was prominent on the website, and that the facility was more than "just another gay club." Legler, who was president of the Florida Theatrical Association when Pulse was founded, also founded two nightclubs in Lake Eola Park in 2010, before moving to Baltimore in 2014. ''The Washington Post'' described the club's first 12 years as "a community hub for HIV prevention, breast-cancer awareness and immigrant rights," and reported it had partnered with educational and advocacy groups such as Come Out with Pride, Equality Florida, and the Zebra Coalition.

June 2016 massacre

On June 12, 2016, a 29-year-old Muslim extremist named Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 58 others in a mass shooting. Mateen affirmed he was acting on behalf of the terrorist group IS, and swore allegiance to the group's leader,

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

. On the day of the shooting, IS had also released a statement via

Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency () is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq is often the "first point of publication for claims of responsibility" for terrorist attacks in Western countries by the Islamic State. In March 2019, Amaq News Agency w ...

, taking responsibility for the attack. The attack was the deadliest single gunman mass shooting in United States history until the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in from his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel. He fired m ...

, the deadliest incident of

violence against LGBT people LGBTQ people frequently experience violence directed toward their human sexuality, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws LGBTQ rights by country or territory, prescribing punishm ...

in U.S. history, surpassing the UpStairs Lounge arson attack of 1973, and the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the

of 2001. In November 2016, the city of Orlando agreed to buy the nightclub for $2.25 million. Mayor Buddy Dyer expressed plans to convert the nightclub into a memorial to honor the memory of the victims. Barbara Poma, the owner, refused to sell the nightclub to the city in December 2016. Instead she announced in May 2017 the creation of the onePULSE Foundation to independently fund a Pulse Memorial and Museum planned to open in 2022. On October 19, 2023, the city of Orlando announced they had purchased the Pulse nightclub and would demolish the existing structure and build a permanent memorial on the former site. As of June 2025, the nightclub remains standing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulse 2004 establishments in Florida 2016 disestablishments in Florida American companies established in 2004 American companies disestablished in 2016 Buildings and structures in Orlando, Florida Culture of Orlando, Florida Defunct LGBTQ nightclubs in the United States LGBTQ history in Florida LGBTQ nightclubs in Florida Event venues established in 2004 Gay culture in the United States Orlando nightclub shooting

Description

History

June 2016 massacre

See also

References

External links