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Stonewall Inn Overview

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photo by SSchultz

Arguably the most historic and important gay bar in New York City, this gin joint is located on the gay thoroughfare known as Christopher Street in the West Village. The Stonewall Inn is most famous for the stonewall riots of 1969, one of the most seminal moments for the gay rights movement in the history of the United States. The rebellion that begin at this local tavern on June 28th, 1969, paved the way for a generation of gay and lesbian people in New York City fighting for their inalienable rights. In commemoration of the event, artist George Segal erected the sculpture “Gay Pride” in the adjacent Christopher Park. The statues of single sex couples in white plaster remain to this day. Over the years, the Stonewall Inn has changed hands a number of times. After it closed in 1969, it became a bagel shop, a Chinese restaurant, a shoe store, and other things. In the early 1990’s the Stonewall Inn reopened as a gay bar, returning to its illustrious heritage. Although the building looks slightly different than it did in 1969, it still captures the same revolutionary magic that it did almost forty years ago.

By: Cyrus	Submitted: 08/08/2007	Comments on this fact? Tell the TravelGoat editors.
It is believed that the infamous 1969 Stonewall Riots, which began just hours after Judy Garland's death, may have been in part incited by those mourning the loss of Garland, a gay icon for much of her later life.
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By: Cyrus	Submitted: 08/08/2007	Comments on this fact? Tell the TravelGoat editors.
When the original Stonewall Inn closed in 1969, a twenty-year-long identity crisis began, during which the building served to house - among other things - a bagel sandwich shop, a shoe store, and a Chinese food restaurant.
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By: Cyrus	Submitted: 08/08/2007	Comments on this fact? Tell the TravelGoat editors.
The Stonewall Inn was honored with a place on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1999, a nod to its significance to gay and lesbian history.
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