Cooper Do-nuts / Nancy Valverde Square

The corner of 2nd and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles was named Cooper Do-nuts / Nancy Valverde Square in 2023. It marks the story of a May 1959 night when police checking IDs at Cooper Do-nuts, an all-night coffee shop used by drag queens, hustlers and gender-nonconforming Angelenos, were pelted with donuts and coffee cups until they left. It also honors Nancy Valverde, who was arrested repeatedly in the 1950s for wearing men's clothes. The uprising story is told mainly by novelist John Rechy. No police or press records of it have turned up, and the cafe's exact address is disputed. There's nothing to visit beyond the signs. Come for the history, ideally on a downtown walking route.