When in New York City: The Stonewall Inn at Christopher Street

Wandering on the streets of “The Village” on the west side of Lower Manhattan, I said to myself, “I am finally here.” It’s the place I heard so much about decades ago from friends who made NYC their home while pursuing higher education. 

“This place is for us. It’s so exciting.” 

“It’s where the artists hang out, and their shops are so hip.” 

“It’s where we get our tapes of underground dance music.” 

I was born on the disco dance floor. Ergo, it was the last comment that excited me most (as if the idea of visiting or living in the Big Apple wasn’t exciting enough). Moreover, the “padalhan kita ng kopya” (I will send you a copy) got me waiting impatiently for the mail to arrive. That took ages. The postman didn’t have to ring twice (or need not ring at all). I got my copies that came stored in tapes. Yes, it was the analog era when audio recordings were stored on cassette tapes, and C120 was the desired playback length that totaled two hours of non-stop (read: mixed) dance tunes. Yeah!

Twenty-plus years and three visa application attempts later, analogue was Jurassic, and I made it to the Village. The scene has changed. Perhaps less vibrant than it was in the previous years, but my excitement was in no way diminished. So, I tailed these “New Yorkers” around.

Street sign: Christopher Street.

Tour guides: “This is an interesting spot.” An understatement. Not only was I standing on the oldest street in the West Village, but I was also at the birthplace of New York’s gay rights movement. Christopher Street happens to be a gay icon, the symbol of gay pride. If Diana Ross, Madonna, or Grace Jones were a street, this would be it.

The stretch was the “it” place in the 1970s, where the scene was totally gay—bars; artistic, decorative, and fetish shops; the pink crowd milling about day in and day out—the product of the infamous 1969 street event that marked the gay revolution in history.

Stonewall Inn: #53 Christopher Street.

The bar, Stonewall, may have been a stable in the past, but it turned into a noteworthy address in the next century. This was the area where the notorious violent demonstrations transpired, the time when “raids of gay bars were brutal and routine,” and the time when the homosexual community fought back against the legal system that persecuted the sexual minority. The Stonewall riots became the most important event that triggered the onset of the modern gay liberation movement in the US.

The year after the tragic event, on June 28, 1970, the first anniversary of the Stonewall riot was commemorated. Crowds gathered at Stonewall, where the first Pride March took place. The march became a tradition. Across the globe, the late-June Gay Pride festivals are celebrated annually.

For its historic significance to gay and lesbian history, the Stonewall Place, the block covering Stonewall, Christopher Park, and portions of surrounding streets and sidewalks, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1999 and declared a National Historic Landmark in February 2000.

Over the years, Stonewall has gone through a series of transformations, from a stable to a restaurant, a bar to a bagel shop, and a shoe store to a multi-floor nightclub. Today, it’s a bar once more, and it hosts local music artists, drag shows and private parties.

The sun was high above us, and Stonewall was closed. A photo-op would do this time.

Then, we moved on towards Sixth Avenue.

Seen: street sign—Gay Street.

This street was named 150 years ago. Coincidence?