The Living Archive
Share a Memory.
Cooper Do-nuts operated for over four decades across more than thirty locations. Most of what happened there was never written down. If you were there — or someone you knew was — we want to hear from you.
Why we’re asking
The documentary record of Cooper Do-nuts is incomplete by design. The people who gathered there in the 1950s and ’60s were not the people institutions bothered to document. LAPD records from the period have been confirmed as purged. Newspaper coverage was sparse. What remains is in boxes, in family albums, in the memories of people who are getting older.
The Cooper Do-nuts Foundation is building the historical record that should have existed all along. Every memory matters. Every photograph matters. Every scrap of evidence — a matchbook, a receipt, a name on a delivery route — adds to the picture.
This is not just about preserving the past. Some of what we find will directly inform the historical record of the 1959 uprising — one of the earliest acts of LGBTQ resistance in American history. Your memory may be part of that record.
What we’re looking for
Every kind of memory. Every kind of evidence.
Personal memories of visiting
You went there as a child, a regular, a late-night wanderer. You remember the counter, the coffee, the people. Write it down — the details that seem small are often the ones that matter most.
Employment memories
You worked there, or someone you knew did. What was it like behind the counter? Who ran the location? What do you remember about the Evans family, the other employees, the regulars?
Photos, documents, physical artifacts
A photograph of a location. A matchbook. A pay stub. An old advertisement torn from a newspaper. A receipt. A menu. Anything that puts Cooper Do-nuts on paper, in a place, at a time.
Location information
We have documented 33 locations. We know there were more. If you remember a Cooper Do-nuts address we haven’t listed — or have any evidence of a location — we want to know.
Testimony about the 1959 events
Were you there? Did you hear about it immediately afterward from someone who was? The evidentiary record of that night is thin. First-hand and near-first-hand accounts are among the most important things we can collect.
If you’re not sure whether what you have is relevant — send it anyway. We read everything.
Share your memory
Tell us what you know.
Use the form below to share a memory, upload a document or photograph, or send us any information you think might be relevant. We’ll read every submission and follow up if we have questions.
For large files or physical materials, submit the form with your details, and more information on what you’re trying to share, and we’ll be in touch to make arrangements.
What happens next
We read everything. We follow up.
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Every submission is read by the Foundation team. Nothing goes into a folder and disappears.
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If your submission adds to the historical record, we’ll follow up directly. We may ask if we can include your account in the archive or in future publications.
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We will never publish your name or your words without your explicit permission.
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Physical materials — photographs, documents — can be returned to you. We will scan, archive, and send back anything you want preserved but not permanently donated.
Don’t have a memory to share?
Follow our work as the historical record develops. We’ll write when we find something worth sharing.
We’ll only write when we have something worth saying.