What Is Stonewall National Monument?
Officially, this national monument is the park across the street from the Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the Gay Rights movement!
What Makes It Historical?
If you’ve ever wondered why the month of June is called Pride Month, it all stems back to June 28, 1969 when 200 patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid! See, at that time, it was illegal to serve alcohol to people who were LGBTQ+ and also illegal for LGBTQ+ folks to dance with each other, so police made a point of doing random raids on the Inn, arresting anyone who appeared to be dressed inappropriately, and generally harassing folks!
Well, by 1:20 AM on that fateful night, enough was enough! Bar patronsstopped cooperating with police, and a crowd gathered outside the Inn–men, women, and trans folks like Marsha P. Johnson—throwing pennies, bottles and bricks! Four officers were injured, and a number of other folks were sent to the hospital by the time it cleared up three hours later. But the movement spread throughout Greenwich Village! Up to 1,000 protestors at a time battled it out on the streets for the next five nights!
From this rebellion, the Gay Liberation Front and other important civil rights groups arose, and a new movement for respect and equality began! This is also why gay pride parades happen across the country in June! The very first ones started to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the rebellion!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Have a drink or go to a show at the Stonewall Inn!
- Volunteer at Stonewall National Monument!
- Become a member of Village Preservation!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
53 Christopher St
New York, NY 10014
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
Visit Christopher Park any time you like! To venture into the Inn itself (technically not part of the monument), hours are weekdays from 2:00 PM to 4:00 AM and weekends from 1:00 PM to 4:00 AM!