Queen City Queer History Tour: Newport (Sin City)

Step into the neon glow of Newport’s legendary past on this walking tour through one of the most notorious entertainment districts in the Midwest. Once known as “Sin City,” Newport, Kentucky was a place where gambling halls, nightclubs, and burlesque theaters drew visitors from across the country—and where LGBTQ+ people quietly carved out spaces of freedom in the shadows of vice and spectacle.

Led by historian and author of Cincinnati Before Stonewall: The Untold Queer History of the Queen City, Jacob Hogue, this tour explores the hidden queer history woven into Newport’s nightlife. Over the course of roughly 1.5 miles and about 90 minutes, we’ll visit historic sites connected to the city’s underground clubs, entertainers, and communities that flourished here during the mid-20th century.

From glamorous nightclubs and mob-run casinos to the bars and backrooms where queer people gathered, Newport’s story reveals how entertainment, crime, and community intersected to create unexpected spaces of belonging.

This tour uncovers the people, performances, and places that made Newport a refuge for outsiders, a playground for the powerful, and an important chapter in the broader history of LGBTQ+ life in the Ohio River Valley.