Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years

tossing our history into dumpsters. That
there was a safe place to conserve that
history simply made more sense. I asked
Barry Johnson to join us on the first board of
directors and we hired our first curator,
Joseph Bean. In no time, the museum was
useless as the archives filled every space.
Both Tony and I strongly believed we
needed to own the building housing the
collection. If that property was owned by a
tax exempt 501 c(3) non-profit, it would be
free from real estate and other taxes. We
eventually located the old Greenview Center
for the Performing Arts which had occupied
an even older Jewish synagogue. We
needed $60,000 for the down payment but
only had $3,000. From the IML stage,
Joseph Bean made an emotional appeal for
funds and we passed the baskets. Through
the generosity of the leather men and
women assembled that night, we raised an
incredible $58,000 in cash, checks and
pledges. Within a few months the building
was ours.
A short 5 years later we were facing a
balloon payment and again turned to the
leather/fetish community for assistance. I
honestly don't know how we did it but when
the smoke cleared it was the smoke coming
from a mortgage burning ceremony. With
the help of a lot of dedicated people and
through the generosity of the entire
community, we owned 6418 N. Greenview
free and clear.
While its hard to top the mortgage burning
ceremony, we can be proud of the continued
good work done in the name of the leather/
fetish community. Day-to-day, the work of
the Leather Archives and Museum continues
both to save our history and make it available
to the public as a whole.
Chuck Renslow
Founder/President
Leather Archives & Museum
April 2016
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