The First Two Meeting Places 1984-1986
Between 1984 and 1997, while funding permitted, Common Bond operated out of a series of four office spaces. The first two were subsidized by the New Mexico Foundation for Human Enrichment, a local nonprofit founded by Buck Rhodes and Steve Slusher with a special concern for the gay and lesbian community. With the assistance of the Foundation, Common Bond demonstrated the importance of having both a place it could call its own and the benefits of having a physical presence in the community.
Common Bond’s first home was a small office at 1330 San Pedro Drive NE. It was part of the Stonewall Center which consisted of a suite of three rooms on the second floor of Autry Plaza. The New Mexico Foundation for Human Enrichment had funded the Stonewall Center as a facility to provide counseling for gays and lesbians. Common Bond occupied one of the rooms there. The office was large enough to accommodate the Gay Information and Support Line and meetings of up to 10 people.
Six months after Common Bond moved in, a library with over 300 books and gay and lesbian periodicals from around the country, supervised by John Fellin, was provided for Common Bond members from 7 – 10 pm, seven days a week. This lending library was available to people who did not have access to such materials in public or school libraries, or who were afraid to check them out or buy gay books in public. Common Bond occupied this office from March 1984 through March 1985.
In the spring of 1985, the New Mexico Foundation for Human Enrichment decided to discontinue its Stonewall Center counseling project, but wanted to assist Common Bond with the establishment of a larger community center. With their continued financial support, Common Bond established its first Community Center a few blocks away in another office building at 1101 Cardenas Drive NE. This location was partially selected because of convenient parking and nearby bus service. During the three-month search for this new space, a great deal of discrimination by leasing agents and landlords was encountered.
Common Bond’s first home was a small office at 1330 San Pedro Drive NE. It was part of the Stonewall Center which consisted of a suite of three rooms on the second floor of Autry Plaza. The New Mexico Foundation for Human Enrichment had funded the Stonewall Center as a facility to provide counseling for gays and lesbians. Common Bond occupied one of the rooms there. The office was large enough to accommodate the Gay Information and Support Line and meetings of up to 10 people.
Six months after Common Bond moved in, a library with over 300 books and gay and lesbian periodicals from around the country, supervised by John Fellin, was provided for Common Bond members from 7 – 10 pm, seven days a week. This lending library was available to people who did not have access to such materials in public or school libraries, or who were afraid to check them out or buy gay books in public. Common Bond occupied this office from March 1984 through March 1985.
In the spring of 1985, the New Mexico Foundation for Human Enrichment decided to discontinue its Stonewall Center counseling project, but wanted to assist Common Bond with the establishment of a larger community center. With their continued financial support, Common Bond established its first Community Center a few blocks away in another office building at 1101 Cardenas Drive NE. This location was partially selected because of convenient parking and nearby bus service. During the three-month search for this new space, a great deal of discrimination by leasing agents and landlords was encountered.
The Cardenas location was substantially larger than the previous one-room office and was able to accommodate numerous projects sponsored by Albuquerque’s growing gay and lesbian community. For example, the statewide AIDS hotline operated by New Mexico AIDS Services was housed there.
The new Center (three rooms with 1,000 sq. ft. of space) hosted activities such as Friday Night Out, an exercise group, and various support groups and committees. Many organizations including New Mexico Lesbian and Gay Alliance and the Gay Parents Group, as well as Common Bond held regular programs and meetings there. However, the diversity of programs and number of people using that facility soon demonstrated the need for a bigger gay and lesbian community center. At Cardenas, the second-floor location, sterile office-like atmosphere, and limited size underscored the need for a still larger space. What’s more, a very successful youth dance held during the summer indicated that neither the air conditioning nor the landlord could deal with such a high energy activity.
Common Bond member Tom Neal, long an advocate of a self-supporting community center, undertook the task of polling Albuquerque’s lesbian and gay community about what it would like to see included in an expanded facility, and ways in which it would be willing to support such a place.
Neal’s survey revealed that the community wanted a lot of things. However, a large amount of money would be needed to accomplish them. The majority of those responding to the poll indicated that a monthly pledge of $10 would be all they could contribute to support a larger center.
With the results of the poll in hand, Neal, Ross Porter, Common Bond’s then president, and others, in an attempt to make the dreams of all those who had grown to depend on the center become a reality, began recruiting people to become members of a group to be known as the Committee of 100. This Committee would be comprised of those willing to make a contribution of at least $10 a month toward the operation of a community center and would give those making pledges a voice in determining the direction of future growth.
The new Center (three rooms with 1,000 sq. ft. of space) hosted activities such as Friday Night Out, an exercise group, and various support groups and committees. Many organizations including New Mexico Lesbian and Gay Alliance and the Gay Parents Group, as well as Common Bond held regular programs and meetings there. However, the diversity of programs and number of people using that facility soon demonstrated the need for a bigger gay and lesbian community center. At Cardenas, the second-floor location, sterile office-like atmosphere, and limited size underscored the need for a still larger space. What’s more, a very successful youth dance held during the summer indicated that neither the air conditioning nor the landlord could deal with such a high energy activity.
Common Bond member Tom Neal, long an advocate of a self-supporting community center, undertook the task of polling Albuquerque’s lesbian and gay community about what it would like to see included in an expanded facility, and ways in which it would be willing to support such a place.
Neal’s survey revealed that the community wanted a lot of things. However, a large amount of money would be needed to accomplish them. The majority of those responding to the poll indicated that a monthly pledge of $10 would be all they could contribute to support a larger center.
With the results of the poll in hand, Neal, Ross Porter, Common Bond’s then president, and others, in an attempt to make the dreams of all those who had grown to depend on the center become a reality, began recruiting people to become members of a group to be known as the Committee of 100. This Committee would be comprised of those willing to make a contribution of at least $10 a month toward the operation of a community center and would give those making pledges a voice in determining the direction of future growth.