Landmarks Preservation Commission Maps 150 Years of LGBTQ History in Greenwich Village
We’re right in the middle of NYC Pride Week, and this Sunday will be filled with festivities surrounding the 45th annual Pride Parade, the largest parade of its kind in the world. And in a perfectly timed decision, the Landmarks Preservation Commission announced on Tuesday that it had designated the Stonewall Inn as the city’s first LGBT landmark. The LPC now has even more to share, releasing a fun new interactive map called Taking Pride, which documents 150 years of LGBTQ history in Greenwich Village, the hub for gay activism in the city, and even the world.
The map begins with the 19th Century “through the ‘free verse’ of Walt Whitman and in the notorious ‘dives’ of Bleecker Street.” Sites include Pfaff’s beer and wine cellar, where bohemians like Whitman hung out, and the Murray H. Hall Residence, home to the Tammany politician who lived as a man, but was revealed to be a woman upon her death.
By the early 20th Century “Greenwich Village emerged as one of the first neighborhoods which allowed, and gradually accepted, an open gay and lesbian presence.” Notable spots from this time include Webster Hall, which hosted masquerade balls popular among those who preferred to dress in drag; The James Baldwin Residence, former home of the famous openly gay author; and Julius’s Bar, where the famous Julius’s Sip-In took in place to protest the New York State Liquor Authority’s prohibition against serving liquor to “disorderly” patrons, a category under which homosexuals then fell.
The third chapter of the map begins with the famous Stonewall Inn. This is where, in June 1969, the riots took place that inspired the LGBT Liberation Movement, where the first-ever Gay Pride parade was organized and held in 1970, and where the NYC AIDS Memorial was planned. Other more recent sites are the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center and the Keith Haring Studio and Foundation.
Explore the full Taking Pride map here.
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