
When did the police raid Stonewall Inn?
When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprise—the bar wasn’t tipped off this time.
When did the Stonewall riots start?
Sources. The Stonewall Riots, also called the Stonewall Uprising, began in the early hours of June 28, 1969 when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, ...
Why did Stonewall Inn not require a liquor license?
Stonewall Inn was registered as a type of private “bottle bar,” which did not require a liquor license because patrons were supposed to bring their own liquor. Club attendees had to sign their names in a book upon entry to maintain the club’s false exclusivity.
Who was the first gay rights activist?
The first documented U.S. gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights (SHR), was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant. Police raids forced them to disband in 1925, but not before they had published several issues of their newsletter, “Friendship and Freedom,” the country’s first gay-interest newsletter.
Did the NYPD raid Stonewall?
Raids were still a fact of life , but usually corrupt cops would tip off Mafia-run bars before they occurred, allowing owners to stash the alcohol (sold without a liquor license) and hide other illegal activities. In fact, the NYPD had stormed Stonewall Inn just a few days before the riot-inducing raid.
When did the Stonewall Inn get raided?
And it all started at a private gay club called the Stonewall Inn. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn. This happened, often as bars weren't really allowed to cater to LGBTQ+ folk at the time. Whatever happened next is a bit of a mystery, according to TIME, but it sparked a commotion that ended with nearly a week's worth ...
When did Stonewall close?
This Stonewall only lasted two years, closing in 1989, but Stonewall wouldn't stay down. Another bar named Jimmy's Stonewall was opened in the other building in 1990, which later converted its name to Stonewall and then back to Stonewall Inn in 2006.
What is the Stonewall 2021?
By Nicholas Vrchoticky / June 10, 2021 4:52 pm EDT. Stonewall is a name you'll hear quite often in LGBTQ+ culture, especially during Pride Month. The name is a reminder of the struggles queer ancestors went through in their fight for basic human rights and tolerance in American society, a fight in both the worldview sense and the physical, ...
Why is Stonewall Place renamed Stonewall Place?
In 1989, the portion of the street that runs in front of the building was renamed "Stonewall Place" in memory of the uprising 20 years before, and in 2000, it was listed as a National Historic Landmark. The commendations didn't stop.
When was Stonewall converted to a bar?
The buildings transitioned from gay bar and catalyst for the United States LGBT Rights Movement to bagel shop, to Chinese restaurant, and to clothing store, before being bought in 1987 , when one of two buildings was converted to a different bar named Stonewall.
Who owns the Stonewall Inn?
The Stonewall Inn, in particular, was owned by the Genovese crime family after "Fat Tony" bought the place in 1966. But that was all before the riots.
Is Stonewall Inn a holy place?
The Stonewall Inn, as you can imagine, has become both a tourist attraction and a kind of holy place within the LGBTQ+ community, where everyone's welcome and you can now enjoy a crisp IPA with the same reverent name from Brooklyn Brewery.
When was the Stonewall Inn raided?
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, four police officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and dance club in New York City's Greenwich Village. They began to arrest patrons who hadn't yet cleared out of the bar for drinking in a space that was operating without a liquor license (more on that later).
Who kicked things off in Stonewall?
No one really knows, though it certainly wasn't the fictional young white man at the center of Stonewall, Roland Emmerich' s ill-received imagining of the story. But beyond the fact that there's absolutely no way to prove who officially kicked (or rather, threw) things off, it's more important to honor the cross-section of people who rallied together to insist upon changing a long, dark period of institutionalized discrimination.
Why Did the Stonewall Riots Happen?
Raids had become commonplace at gay bars during that time, because N. Y. State Liquor Authority laws had rendered those bars illegal—the SLA wouldn't issue a li quor license to any establishment that served a "disorderly" clientele (and, apparently, being gay fell under their umbrella of "disorderly" conduct). As such, if a gay bar wanted to operate, they had to do it illegally. This is how the mafia, specifically the Genovese crime family, became proprietors of the Stonewall Inn.
Did the Stonewall riots burn the barricade?
Ten police officers barricaded themselves inside the bar during the riot; the crowd burned the barricade. Drag queens and trans women of color held the line amid the melee.
Is Stonewall Inn still open?
A refurbished version of Stonewall Inn, now a National Historic Landmark, remains open today. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, a series of clashes in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood that's now remembered as a pivotal event in the birth of the gay liberation movement of the '70s and '80s.
Can I visit Stonewall Inn today?
Yes! Located at 53 Christopher Street in New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood, the bar is still a place where LGBTQ people (and those who love them) can drink, gather and dance.
When did the Stonewall Inn close?
In late 1969 , a few months after the rebellion that started on June 28 of that year, the Stonewall Inn initially closed.
What was the name of the inn in the Village of Stonewall?
In 1930, the Stonewall Inn, sometimes known as Bonnie’s Stonewall Inn, presumably in honor of its proprietor Vincent Bonavia, opened at 91 Seventh Avenue South. Purportedly a tearoom, a restaurant serving light meals and non-alcoholic beverages, it was in fact a speakeasy, which was raided by prohibition agents in December 1930, along with several other Village nightspots.
What is the Stonewall in NYC?
The buildings are both part of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission 's Greenwich Village Historic District, designated in April 1969. The buildings and/or the surrounding area have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2000. They were the first LGBTQ-associated properties listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and were the first LGBTQ National Historic Landmarks. On June 23, 2015, the Stonewall Inn was the first landmark in New York City to be recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on the basis of its status in LGBT history, and on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall National Monument was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the LGBTQ-rights movement. Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 was the largest international Pride celebration in history, produced by Heritage of Pride and enhanced through a partnership with the I ❤ NY program's LGBT division, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, with 150,000 participants and five million spectators attending in Manhattan alone.
What is the movie Stonewall based on?
In popular culture. The movie Stonewall, released in 1995, is loosely based on the incidents leading up to the Stonewall riots. Brazilian singer Renato Russo recorded his first solo album, The Stonewall Celebration Concert, in 1994, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the riots.
Where did the Stonewall riots take place?
The Stonewall riots were a series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich neighborhood of New York City.
How big is the Stonewall National Monument?
In June 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama established a 7.7-acre (3.11 ha) area around the site as the Stonewall National Monument, the first LGBT U.S. National Park site. The monument itself is Christopher Park, which is across the street from the site of the original Stonewall Inn.
What did the TPF do in the Stonewall?
The TPF formed a phalanx and attempted to clear the streets, and by 4:00 in the morning they were able to do so.
Featured
Did anyone die at Stonewall? While many people are celebrating the beginning of Pride Month today, we take a look back at the catalyst for modern Pride, the Stonewall riots of 1969. We also clarify why June is Pride Month, and exactly what happened more than 50 years ago.
What happened at the Stonewall riots in 1969?
In New York in 1969 police would regularly raid gay bars, harassing the LGBTQ+ community who spent their time there. In the 1960s same-sex relations were illegal.
Why is June Pride month?
Pride is celebrated in June because the Stonewall riots, or the Stonewall uprising, took place on 28 June 1969 in New York City.

Constant Raids at Gay Bars
Gay Rights Before Stonewall
- The first documented U.S. gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights (SHR), was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant. Police raids forced them to disband in 1925, but not before they had published several issues of their newsletter, “Friendship and Freedom,” the country’s first gay-interest newsletter. America’s first lesbian rights organization, …
The Stonewall Inn
- The crime syndicate saw profit in catering to shunned gay clientele, and by the mid-1960s, the Genovese crime family controlled most Greenwich Village gay bars. In 1966, they purchased Stonewall Inn (a “straight” bar and restaurant), cheaply renovated it, and reopened it the next year as a gay bar. Stonewall Inn was registered as a type of private “bottle bar,” which did not require …
The Stonewall Riots Begin
- When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprise—the bar wasn’t tipped off this time. Armed with a warrant, police officers entered the club, roughed up patrons, and, finding bootlegged alcohol, arrested 13 people, including employees and people violating the state’s gender-appropriate clothing statute (female offic...
Stonewall's Legacy
- Though the Stonewall uprising didn’t start the gay rights movement, it was a galvanizing force for LGBT political activism, leading to numerous gay rights organizations, including the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), and PFLAG(formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). On the one-year anniv…
Sources
- A History of Gay Rights in America. CBS. LGBTQ Activism: The Henry Gerber House, Chicago, IL. NPS.gov.
Overview
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.
Early history
In 1930, the Stonewall Inn, sometimes known as Bonnie's Stonewall Inn, presumably in honor of its proprietor, Vincent Bonavia, opened at 91 Seventh Avenue South. Purportedly a tearoom, a restaurant serving light meals and non-alcoholic beverages, it was in fact a speakeasy, which was raided by prohibition agents in December 1930, along with several other Village nightspots.
In 1934, a year after the end of Prohibition, Bonavia relocated to 51–53 Christopher Street, wher…
Uprising
The Stonewall uprising was a series of spontaneous, violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Around 1:20 a.m., Seymour Pine of the New York City Vice Squad Public Morals Division and four other officers joined forces wi…
After the riots
The Stonewall reopened in 1972 under the same management at 211 22nd Street in Miami Beach, Florida, but burned down 2 years later. Over the next 20 years, the original space in Manhattan was occupied by various other establishments, including a bagel sandwich shop, a Chinese restaurant, and a shoe store. Many visitors and new residents in the neighborhood were unawar…
In popular culture
• The movie Stonewall, released in 1995, is loosely based on the incidents leading up to the Stonewall riots.
• Brazilian singer Renato Russo recorded his first solo album, The Stonewall Celebration Concert, in 1994, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the riots. The booklet accompanying the album contained information about 29 social organizations, several of which related to gay rights; part of the royalties was donated to such organizations.
See also
• Stonewall National Monument
• LGBTQ culture in New York City
• List of New York City Landmarks
• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
External links
• Official website
• The Stonewall Riots – About.com
• "Stonewall NYC" on https://vimeo.com/coolloungeradio
• Original Stonewall Inn to close – Pinknews.co.uk