from Gay City News

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has unanimously designated Julius’ Bar — the oldest gay bar in the city and site of the 1966 “sip-in” demonstration — as an official landmark.

The 11-0 vote, held during a virtual hearing on December 6, was largely symbolic because the bar was already previously protected by a broader landmark designation in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which is made up of a collection of more than 2,000 buildings across 100 blocks in Manhattan. Still, it was hailed as a triumph following a decade-long push to protect the building. Groups such as Village Preservation and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project were instrumental in the campaign to designate the bar, which is located at 159 West 10th Street.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission praised the work of the LGBT Historic Sites Project, which has documented numerous locations across the five boroughs that have carved out a place in LGBTQ history.

“The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is thrilled that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the Julius’ Bar Building as an official landmark,” Andrew Dolkart, co-director of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, said in a written statement. “One of the first initiatives that the Sites Project undertook after its founding was the completion of the nomination that succeeded in getting Julius’ listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as the site of the so-called “sip-in,” at which three courageous gay men sought to challenge the New York State rule that a bar could not serve a known homosexual.”

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