Inside New York City’s underground ’60s & ’70s cruising scene

Decades before Stonewall, queer New York­ers found com­mu­ni­ty in Cen­tral Park, gath­er­ing around Bethes­da Foun­tain. It’s where ​“The Angel of the Waters” – the vis­age of 19^th cen­tu­ry actor Char­lotte Cush­man – is immor­talised by her lover, sculp­tor Emma Steb­bins, for all eternity. 

But oth­ers, seek­ing a more inti­mate exchange, had long dis­ap­peared into The Ram­ble, a lush wood­land filled with wind­ing paths, rus­tic bridges, and dense foliage in the shad­ows of near­by Belvedere Cas­tle. By the ear­ly ​’20s, The Ram­ble had become New York’s most infa­mous cruis­ing grounds – its leg­end only grow­ing more lumi­nous as police efforts to snuff out illic­it activ­i­ty only added to the thrill of it all. 

In 1968, Brook­lyn-born pho­tog­ra­ph­er Arthur Tress, then 28, began mak­ing pho­tographs in The Ram­ble with his Has­sel­blad. As a par­tic­i­pant and observ­er, Tress craft­ed an intri­cate map of queer desire and clan­des­tine plea­sure, unfold­ing in plain sight among young men sig­nalling to one anoth­er in dis­creet glances, ges­tures, and codes. They preened and posed for one anoth­er with the yearn­ing for a love that dared not speak its name – at a time when to do so was still a crime.