Pulse (nightclub): Difference between revisions

'''Pulse''' was a [[gay bar]], dance club, and [[nightclub]] in [[Orlando, Florida]], founded in 2004 by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. On June 12, 2016, the club was the scene of [[OrlandoPulse nightclub shooting|the second worst mass shooting]] by [[Omar Mateen|a single gunman]] in U.S. history, and the second deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the [[September 11 attacks]]. Forty-nine people were killed and 5358 other people were injured.

In 1985—prior to Pulse's founding—the property located at 1912 South Orange Avenue was home to a pizza restaurant named Lorenzo's.<ref>Sherman, Chris. "[httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/1985-/07-19/lifestyle19/0310370113_1_pizzawhats-hutcooking-italianin-piepizza-crustcircles/ What's Cooking in Pizza Circles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921034500/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-07-19/lifestyle/0310370113_1_pizza-hut-italian-pie-crust |date=September 21, 2018 }}". ''The Orlando Sentinel''. July 19, 1985.</ref> By 1999, it was called Dante's, a bar with live music.<ref>Joseph, Scott. "[httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/1999-/02-/26/entertainment/9902260490_1_chinesea-restaurantsfortuitous-chinese-and-japanese-china-fortunefusion/ A Fortuitous Fusion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921034511/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-02-26/entertainment/9902260490_1_chinese-restaurants-chinese-and-japanese-china-fortune |date=September 21, 2018 }}". ''The Orlando Sentinel''. February 26, 1999.</ref> Dante's closed in January 2003.<ref>Gray, Tyler. "[httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/2003-/01-/17/entertainment/0301160487_1_newcaught-venuein-bandheadlightz-hopbar-changes-act/ Caught in Headlightz: Bar Changes Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304012647/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-01-17/entertainment/0301160487_1_new-venue-band-hop |date=March 4, 2014 }}". ''The Orlando Sentinel''. January 17, 2003.</ref>

Founded by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler, Pulse opened on July 2, 2004.<ref name= open>Matthews, Mark K. "[httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/2004-/07-/09/entertainment/0407080389_1_pulsepulses-ultraspace-loungea-new-jewelodyssey-boxfor-chic/ Pulse's Space a New Odyssey for Chic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921034616/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2004-07-09/entertainment/0407080389_1_pulse-ultra-lounge-jewel-box |date=September 21, 2018 }}". ''The Orlando Sentinel''. July 9, 2004.</ref><ref name=Hjelmgaard /><ref>{{cite magazine |url = https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/orlando-gay-nightclub-massacre-lgbt-community-history |title = Orlando's Pulse Nightclub Was Founded by a Woman Whose Brother Died from AIDS |first = James |last = West |date = June 12, 2016 |magazine = Mother Jones |access-date = June 12, 2016 |issn = 0362-8841 |publisher = Foundation for National Progress |archive-date = June 13, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160613131259/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/orlando-gay-nightclub-massacre-lgbt-community-history |url-status = live }}</ref> Poma's brother, John, died in 1991 from [[AIDS]], and the club is "named for John's pulse to live on," according to a marketing staff member in February 2016.<ref name=wapo>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/13/more-than-just-another-gay-club-pulse-was-founded-in-her-brothers-memory-and-named-for-his-beating-heart/|title=Orlando's club Pulse owes its name and spirit to 'loving brother' who died from AIDS|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025191646/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/13/more-than-just-another-gay-club-pulse-was-founded-in-her-brothers-memory-and-named-for-his-beating-heart/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="next-feb">{{cite news |title = The Pulse of Orlando |date = February 3, 2013 |work = Next |url = http://nextmagazinefl.com/central-florida/the-pulse-of-orlando |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160617092046/http://nextmagazinefl.com/central-florida/the-pulse-of-orlando |archive-date = June 17, 2016 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The venue had a focus on local talent.<ref name="next-feb" /> Poma ensured that her brother's memory was prominent on the website, and that the facility was more than "just another gay club."<ref name=wapo /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ron-legler-leaving-orlando-20140218-story.html|title=Ron Legler, 'champion' of downtown and the arts, leaving Orlando|first=Orlando|last=Sentinel|date=February 19, 2014 |access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509012033/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ron-legler-leaving-orlando-20140218-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''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.<ref name=wapo />

On June 12, 2016, a 29-year-old Muslim extremist named [[Omar Mateen]], killed 49 people and wounded 58 others in [[Orlando nightclub shooting|a mass shooting]]. Mateen affirmed he was acting on behalf of the terrorist group [[Islamic State|IS]], and swore allegiance to the group's leader, [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fais |first=Scott |date=June 15, 2016 |title=Mateen to News 13 producer: 'I'm the shooter. It's me.' |url=http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2016/6/14/orlando_shooting_oma.html |publisher=News 13 |access-date= November 23, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616004253/https://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2016/6/14/orlando_shooting_oma.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Michael E. |date=June 15, 2016 |title='I'm the shooter. It's me': Gunman called local TV station during attack, station says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/15/im-the-shooter-its-me-gunman-called-local-tv-station-during-attack-station-says/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 23, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615155427/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/15/im-the-shooter-its-me-gunman-called-local-tv-station-during-attack-station-says/ |archive-date=June 15, 2016}}</ref> On the day of the shooting, IS had also released a statement via [[Amaq News Agency]], taking responsibility for the attack.<ref>{{cite news |title=READ: Official ISIS Statement on Orlando Terror Attack by Amaq News Agency |url=http://heavy.com/news/2016/06/official-isis-islamic-state-statement-about-orlando-florida-terrorist-terrorism-attack-shooting-omar-mateen-lone-wolf-attack-amaq-news/ |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=Heavy |date=June 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613065514/http://heavy.com/news/2016/06/official-isis-islamic-state-statement-about-orlando-florida-terrorist-terrorism-attack-shooting-omar-mateen-lone-wolf-attack-amaq-news/ |archive-date=June 13, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The attack was the deadliest single gunman mass shooting in United States history until the [[2017 Las Vegas shooting]],<ref name="LATimes">{{cite news |url = http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-20160612-snap-story.html |title = Fifty dead in Orlando gay nightclub shooting, worst mass killing in modern U.S. history; gunman reportedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |access-date = June 12, 2016 |date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612095327/http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-20160612-snap-story.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="lyons20160612">{{cite web |url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/12/orlando-shooting-nightclub-pulse-gunman |title = Orlando Pulse club attack: gunman behind shooting that killed 49 'named as Omar Mateen' |last = Lyons |first = Kate |date = June 12, 2016 |website = The Guardian |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612100242/http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/12/orlando-shooting-nightclub-pulse-gunman |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="cbc">{{cite news |url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/florida-pulse-nightclub-shooting-1.3631419 |title = Gunman in nightclub shooting had been investigated for terrorist links |publisher = CBC News |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = November 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108141637/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/florida-pulse-nightclub-shooting-1.3631419 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first = Lois |last = Beckett |url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/12/orlando-nightclub-deadliest-mass-shooting-terrorism |title = Orlando nightclub attack is deadliest US mass shooting in modern history |work = The Guardian |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612151113/http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/12/orlando-nightclub-deadliest-mass-shooting-terrorism |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/orlando-nightclub-shooting-20-dead-terror-attack-at-florida-lgbt-club-gay-killed-explosion-bomb-a7077831.html |last = Yeung |first = Peter |title = Gunman's 'terror attack' on gay nightclub leaves 50 dead |date = June 12, 2016 |website = The Independent |language = en-GB |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612130352/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/orlando-nightclub-shooting-20-dead-terror-attack-at-florida-lgbt-club-gay-killed-explosion-bomb-a7077831.html |url-status = live }}</ref> the deadliest incident of [[History of violence against LGBT people in the United States|violence against LGBT people]] in U.S. history, surpassing the [[UpStairs Lounge arson attack]] of 1973,<ref>{{cite web |first = Mark Joseph |last = Stern |url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/06/12/pulse_nightclub_shooting_and_tragic_history_of_violence_at_lgbtq_clubs_in.html |title = The Long, Tragic History of Violence at LGBTQ Bars and Clubs in America |work = Slate |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612172215/http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/06/12/pulse_nightclub_shooting_and_tragic_history_of_violence_at_lgbtq_clubs_in.html |url-status = live }}</ref> and the second deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the [[September 11 attacks]] of 2001.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news |url = http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/index.html |title = 50 killed in Florida nightclub, shooter pledged ISIS allegiance |first1 = Ashley |last1 = Fantz |first2 = Faith |last2 = Karimi |first3 = Eliott C. |last3 = McLaughlin |publisher = CNN |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = May 25, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190525135958/https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/index.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.sky.com/story/1710904/obama-orlando-an-act-of-terror-and-hate |title = Obama: Orlando An Act Of 'Terror And Hate' |publisher = Sky News |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612183043/http://news.sky.com/story/1710904/obama-orlando-an-act-of-terror-and-hate |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = The Orlando attack could transform the picture of post-9/11 terrorism in America |first = Ann |last = Swanson |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/12/the-orlando-attack-could-transform-the-picture-of-post-911-terrorism-in-america/ |date = June 12, 2016 |access-date = June 12, 2016 |newspaper = The Washington Post |archive-date = June 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160612203733/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/12/the-orlando-attack-could-transform-the-picture-of-post-911-terrorism-in-america/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

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[[Category:Defunct LGBTLGBTQ nightclubs in the United States]]

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[[Category:LGBTLGBTQ nightclubs in Florida]]