The Connection

The Connection was a popular dance club, which opened at 5th Ave S. and Demonbreun in July 1993. George Stinson and Edward Lewis spent $750,000 renovating the former auto body shop into a restaurant and club that catered to Nashville’s gay community. Unfortunately, plans for a new indoor concert and sports venue were announced, and The Connection was in the footprint of what would become Bridgestone Arena. So, Stinson and Lewis moved to East Nashville and reopened at 901 Cowan Street in 1994.

The Connection spent more than a decade on Cowan Street. The 44,000 square foot warehouse turned night club created an amazing atmosphere. The club attracted gay and straight people as well as celebrities and country music stars, like Trisha Yearwood and The Chicks. People traveled from across the South to dance on The Connection’s black-and-white checkered floor. All-star drag performers like Bianca Paige and Rita Ross attracted nightly crowds that numbered in the thousands. You’ll learn about them later in the tour.

The Connection had a darker side, too. Calpernia Addams, a transgender performer at the club, wrote about the low pay, high performance demands, and intense drug culture in her memoir entitled Mark 947. She also endured a horrific display of anti-trans violence linked to The Connection’s clientele. Calpernia met Pfc. Barry Winchell, from nearby Fort Campbell, in 1999 while working at The Connection, and the two formed a loving relationship. Soldiers harassed Winchell for dating a trans woman, and on July 6, Pvt. Calvin Glover—encouraged by Spc. Justin Fisher—murdered Winchell in his barracks. The murder made international headlines, and Nashville’s LGBTQ community called for hate crime charges. Glover was sentenced to life in prison, and Fisher served jail time but was released in early 2006.

Winchell’s murder became part of the national conversation about the effects of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which did not allow active US military members to be openly queer. Secretary of Defense William Cohen ordered an official review of the policy following the tragedy, while Winchell’s parents, Wally and Patricia Kutteles, spent years working to overturn the policy. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was formally repealed in 2011. 

Calpernia Addams, a Nashville native and veteran of the Navy, became a trans rights activist as well as a producer, actress, and consultant for the film industry. In 2002, Addams and her friend Andrea James founded Deep Stealth Productions to create entertainment and educational content focused on gender identity. The company consulted on the critically-acclaimed film Soldier’s Girl, based on the romance between Addams and Winchell. Winchell is still recognized every year in Nashville on Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Now we’ll head into the heart of East Nashville for our next stop, the home of Penny Campbell at 1615 McEwen Ave. Turn around and head back down Cowan Street towards Jefferson Street. Turn LEFT onto Spring Street and follow it approx. one mile. At the light, turn LEFT onto Main Street. Drive another mile on Main Street, which becomes Gallatin Pike, and take a RIGHT onto Ordway Place. In a half mile, turn LEFT onto North Sixteenth St. and then RIGHT onto McEwen Ave. The house and historical marker will be on your left. You can find street parking and walk over to the marker while you listen to the narration.