Eldorado was celebrated for its drag performances, elaborate costumes, live music, and lively crowds of artists, writers, performers, intellectuals, foreign visitors, and members of Berlin's LGBTQ community. At the time, Berlin was widely regarded as one of the world's most culturally dynamic cities, with dozens of LGBTQ clubs, cafés, publications, and advocacy organizations. Just a short distance away, physician Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Science studied gender and identity, attracting visitors and researchers from around the world. This period of openness proved brief. After the change in government in 1933, the Eldorado was closed, LGBTQ organizations were dismantled, Hirschfeld's institute was destroyed, and much of Berlin's celebrated cabaret culture came to an end under increasing political repression. #archaeohistories#