At the time, New York was notorious for its strict enforcement of anti-gay laws that made it risky for gay people to congregate in public. The Stonewall Inn opened as a gay club in 1967 in the heart of Manhattan’s bohemian Greenwich Village neighborhood. The monument encompasses Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding streets and sidewalks that were the sites of the 1969 Stonewall uprising.
While The Stonewall Inn continues operating as a bar, the area around it was designated by former President Barack Obama in 2016 as the country’s first national monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights. The center is the latest effort to recognize the legacy of the 1969 Stonewall riots.
“We honor all those who came before us, most especially the queer people fighting for equality at the Stonewall Rebellion.” “The opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is a remarkable moment in the history of Stonewall,” said Ann Marie Gothard, board president of Pride Live.
