Notes from an Interior GLOBE brown bag lunch presentation on October 21, 1999

The History and Nomination
of the Stonewall Inn

with

Andrew Dolkart  -  Historic Preservationist

Mr. Dolkart spoke on the history of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, and his work in researching and preparing the nomination of the Stonewall Inn to the National Register of Historic Places.  Mr. Dolkart is the author of the Guide to New York City Landmarks.

The Stonewall Rebellion that began on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, is the watershed moment in the history of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement.  Stonewall marked the first time that gays and lesbians as a group forcefully and vocally asserted their rights to equality under the law.  The events of Stonewall opened the door for millions of gay and lesbian Americans to begin pressing for full and equal civil rights.  Indeed, within a few short years of Stonewall, thousands of gay and lesbian civil rights organizations had sprung up all across America.  This historic site, that is commemorated annually in thousands of parades and festivals around the world, must be recognized as a truly significant place in the history of the modern civil rights movement.  In June 1999 the Stonewall Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its historic significance to gay and lesbian history.

The Stonewall Inn in 1969 was a mafia-run private club that catered to a young collegiate crowd, but was diversified and somewhat inter-racial.  Although men in drag are often mentioned in connection with Stonewall, at the time, men dressing in women's clothes was illegal and drag usually meant a little eye makeup or maybe a little accessorizing.  Christopher Park, across the street from Stonewall Inn, was a gathering place for young gay street kids.

At 1:00 AM on Saturday morning, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn.  The usual practice was for patrons with membership cards to be released from the bar, one at a time.   Employees of the Inn and patrons in drag would be arrested.  Usually, during raids, members would leave the area when released by the police, but on this morning, they stayed around.

The crowd of bar patrons and street kids was in a festive mood, with patrons posing in front of the bar when released, and the crowd cheering.  When the paddy wagons arrived for the arrests, the crowd started throwing pennies and then the Belgian blocks used to pave the street.   The police retreated into the Stonewall Inn.  The crowd broke the windows, crashed the door with a broken off parking meter, and started throwing lighted burning objects into the bar.  Because of the geography of the area, when police reinforcements moved the crowd away, it was very simple for the crowd to circle around and come back to the area along another street.

The event received much press attention, and the next night over 1,000 people were on hand to join in the fray.  Three nights of bad weather, which halted the activities, were followed by a few more nights of rebellion, characterized by a more diverse crowd, rock throwing and vandalism.

The event was significant from the day it occurred - creating changes in gay people's lives immediately.   On the one week anniversary, there was a gay march.  On the first year anniversary, the first gay pride march was held in New York City, as well as in other cities.  The name "Stonewall" has been used very widely - even internationally - to mark gay pride events.  The 15th anniversary saw a post office commemoration of the event.  An estimated crowd of more than 500,000 people participated in the 25th Anniversary Stonewall March in New York City.  At 30 years, in June of this year, Stonewall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing the significance of the events which took place in 1969.

Interior GLOBE thanks Andrew Dolkart for sharing his research with us.

Revised: 10/25/99
Robert_J_Veltkamp@nbc.gov