Stonewall Inn wins landmark status
New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted June 23, 2015 to grant landmark status to the Stonewall Inn, the West Village bar long considered the birthplace of the LGBT rights movement. This is the first time that a site in the city has been designated a landmark because of its significance to LBGT history.
The Stonewall Inn was the scene of a riot in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 when resistance to a police raid sparked the birth of the modern gay rights movement in the United States.
Here, pro-gay rights demonstrators at the time of the famous Stonewall riots.
Stonewall Inn
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell speaks to the media in front of The Stonewall Inn announcing a new National Park Service initiative intended to identify places and events associated with the civil rights struggle of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans on May 30, 2014 in New York City.
The initiative is part of the Obama Administration's effort for the National Park Service to join other agencies in helping to better explain the complex story of the people and events responsible for building this nation.
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York City, is seen in September 1969.
Due to the riot there three months earlier, the West Village bar would go on to become a gathering place for the LGTBQ community, celebrating historic moments in the gay rights movement.
"Take Back the Night"
People participate in Queer Rising's "Take Back the Night" gay rights march in front of The Stonewall Inn October 9, 2010 in New York City.
Queer Rising was formed in 2009 to demand equality and dignity, and battle against hate crimes and bullying which target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community.
The march was organized following two hate crimes in NYC and began and ended at the locations of the attacks, beginning at West 25th Street & 9th Avenue and ending at the Stonewall Inn.
Stonewall Inn
A plaque marks the site of the Stonewall riots at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street on June 23, 2009 in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, as the community marks the 40th anniversary of the riots.
The disturbances began on the night of June 28, 1969 as a protest by gays against police harassment helped trigger the modern U.S. gay rights movement.
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A bartender wears one of the souvenir shirts that are offered for sale behind the bar at The Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village, May 29, 2014.
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Ellie Pretsch celebrates at the Stonewall Inn after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional on June 26, 2013.
The Stonewall Inn became historically important in the Lesbian-Gay-Bigender-Transgender community after playing a key role during the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Stonewall Inn
Marchers from the group "New Yorkers United for Marriage" go past the Stonewall Inn during the 2011 NYC LGBT Pride March on the streets of Manhattan, June 26, 2011.
The thousands of revelers in attendance had particular cause to celebrate that year, since New York state legislators approved and Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, June 24, 2011.
Stonewall Inn
Revelers celebrate in front of the Stonewall Inn in New York City's West Village following the passing of the same sex marriage bill by a vote of 33 to 29, , June 24, 2011, in New York.
Same-sex marriage became legal in New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that was narrowly passed by state lawmakers, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born.
Stonewall Inn
Statues are decorated after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, at festivities outside the Stonewall Inn on June 26, 2013 in New York City.
Stonewall Inn
A woman waves a rainbow flag after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, at festivities outside the Stonewall Inn, on June 26, 2013 in New York City.
Stonewall Inn
Brad Suddreth (C) celebrates after the Supreme Court ruled key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, at festivities outside the Stonewall Inn, on June 26, 2013 in New York City's West Village.
The bar has long been a social gathering place to celebrate historic events for the LGBT community.
Stonewall Inn
People cheer while standing in front of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village as the annual Gay Pride parade passes, June 26, 2011 in New York City.
New York's Gay Pride Parade is one of the world's oldest and largest.
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Niki Buchanan smokes a cigarette outside the Stonewall Inn, May 9, 2012, shortly after President Obama announced that he now supports same-sex marriage, reversing his longstanding opposition.
Stonewall Inn
Patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a historic gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, watch a news report on May 9, 2012 that shows President Barack Obama's statement that same sex couples should be able to marry.
The president made the statement in an interview with ABC television following comments by Vice President Joe Biden where he stated that he was "absolutely comfortable" with couples of the same gender marrying.
President Obama is the first American president to come out in favor of gay marriage.
Stonewall Inn
People stand outside The Stonewall Inn during the 2011 NYC LGBT Pride March on the streets of Manhattan, June 26, 2011.
Stonewall Inn
A reveler waves a gay pride flag in front of New York City's historic Stonewall Inn after the passing of a bill legalizing gay marriage in New York State on June 24, 2011.
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The Stonewall Inn, Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village.
Stonewall Inn
Drag queens wave from a float that honors the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots during New York's annual Gay Pride Parade, June 28, 2009.
Marchers marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings, a raid on the gay-friendly Stonewall Inn that was the starting point for riots that lasted several days in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. The event became a defining moment for the gay rights movement.