PlaceCivil Rights and Social Transformation
Stonewall Inn and Stonewall National Monument
Greenwich Village landmark of the gay rights movement
Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, New York City
The Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York’s Greenwich Village was the site of the June 1969 police raid that sparked the Stonewall uprising. The bar, still a working establishment, is a National Historic Landmark. Across the street, Christopher Park is the heart of Stonewall National Monument.
Key facts
- Location
- Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, New York City
- Location
- Christopher Street, Greenwich Village
- Event
- Police raid and uprising, June 28, 1969
- Stonewall Inn
- National Historic Landmark; a private, working bar
- Monument
- Stonewall National Monument, in Christopher Park across the street
- Managed by
- National Park Service (New York Harbor parks)
Why it matters
Stonewall is a landmark of the LGBTQ+ rights movement — a place where ordinary people’s resistance to a police raid helped launch a national struggle for equal rights.
About the place
Stonewall National Monument occupies Christopher Park, a small park in Greenwich Village across from the Stonewall Inn. The Park Service offers tours and a photo exhibit on the park’s fence. The Stonewall Inn itself remains a privately owned, working bar.
History
On June 28, 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn led to several nights of riots and demonstrations that catalyzed the nationwide movement for gay and lesbian rights. The bar was later recognized as a National Historic Landmark for its role in the beginning of the modern struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, and the surrounding area was proclaimed Stonewall National Monument.
Study this entry
Check your understanding
Try answering in your own words, then open the answer.
1.What is this place?Show answerHide
Stonewall National Monument occupies Christopher Park, a small park in Greenwich Village across from the Stonewall Inn. The Park Service offers tours and a photo exhibit on the park’s fence.From “About the place” above.
2.What happened here?Show answerHide
On June 28, 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn led to several nights of riots and demonstrations that catalyzed the nationwide movement for gay and lesbian rights.From “History” above.
Turn this entry into 10 flashcards (key facts, dates, and why it matters) and review them in Learn.
Related History
How this connects to the rest of the atlas.
Sources
- 1.Learn About the Park — Stonewall National Monument
National Park Service · Institutional · cited for June 28, 1969 raid and uprising; monument and Stonewall Inn
- 2.Stonewall National Monument
National Park Service · Institutional · cited for monument location
- 3.The American Yawp, “The Unraveling”
The American Yawp (eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright; Stanford University Press) · Scholarly · cited for 1970s: Vietnam’s end, Watergate, feminism, environmentalism
Image credits
- Stonewall Inn 6 pride weekend 2016, Rhododendrites, Taken on 25 June 2016, 19:41:11. Via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Written for American History Atlas from the sources above. See how entries are researched.
Atlas by Alexander. More on Telegram.