This book reconstructs the vibrant gay world that existed in New York City from the late nineteenth century through the 1940s, challenging the assumption that before Stonewall, gay life was confined to closets and shadows. The author draws on extensive archival research to document gay neighborhoods, bars, bathhouses, and social networks that flourished despite legal persecution. Working-class gay men created visible communities in neighborhoods like Times Square and the Bowery, developing distinctive cultures with their own slang, rituals, and social hierarchies. Middle-class gay men navigated different spaces, from private parties to certain restaurants and clubs where they could meet relatively safely. The book examines how gay life intersected with race and class, how immigrants brought different traditions of same-sex intimacy, and how the policing of homosexuality intensified over time. It traces how the relatively open gay world of the 1920s was suppressed during the Depression and World War II, setting the stage for the more closeted culture of the 1950s. The research revolutionizes understanding of LGBTQ history by showing that contemporary gay identity and community have longer roots than previously recognized, and that the closet was imposed on a community that had known more visibility.