Resources
Designated LGBT Landmarks in NYC
National Register of Historic Places Nominations
The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project team wrote all nominations except for Rustin. Each site is also listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places.
- Stonewall Inn (1999; declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000)
- Bayard Rustin Residence (2016)
- Julius’ (2016)
- Alice Austen House (2017 amendment)
- Caffe Cino (2017)
- Earl Hall (2018)
- James Baldwin Residence (2019)
- Church of the Holy Apostles (2020)
- Lorraine Hansberry Residence (2021)
- Women’s Liberation Center (2021)
- Lillian Wald Residence (2022)
- Greenwich Village Historic District (2024 amendment)
Additional resources:
- LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (chapter 26: NYC history)
- Historic Context Statement for LGBT History in New York City
- Sites on the National Register of Historic Places that interpret LGBT History
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Reports
The LPC is the city agency responsible for designating and regulating significant historic sites as protected landmarks. Reports included here are for those landmarks that were designated primarily for LGBT significance.
- South Village Historic District (2013)
- Stonewall Inn (2015)
- Audre Lorde Residence (2019)
- Caffe Cino (2019)
- Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse (2019)
- James Baldwin Residence (2019)
- LGBT Community Center (2019)
- Women’s Liberation Center (2019)
- Lesbian Herstory Archives (2022)
- Julius’ (2022)
Guides & Maps
- Marching for Pride: The Basics
- Stonewall: The Basics
- Stonewall: Lo Básico (en español)
- The Roots of LGBTQ Preservation (oral histories of project founders Andrew Dolkart, Ken Lustbader, and Jay Shockley)
- A Guide to Lesbian & Gay New York Historical Landmarks (Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects + Designers; 1994)
- LGBT History Tour, Greenwich Village, NYC (National Parks Conservation Association; 2017)
- Tour de Sitios Históricos LGBT, Greenwich Village, Nueva York (en español)
- Downtown Brooklyn Self-Guided Bike Tour (NYC Department of Transportation; 2023)
Awards & Recognition
- Trustees’ Award for Organizational Excellence, National Trust for Historic Preservation (2022)
- Grassroots Preservation Award, Historic Districts Council (2020)
- “Preservation of LGBTQ Historic & Cultural Sites – A New York City Perspective” in Preservation and Place: Historic Preservation by and of LGBTQ Communities in the United States, University of Mary Washington Center for Historic Preservation Book Prize (2020)
- Excellence in Historic Preservation Award (2019), Preservation League of New York State
- “Preservation of LGBTQ Historic & Cultural Sites – A New York City Perspective” in the National Park Service’s LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, Vernacular Architecture Forum’s Paul E. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Field Work, Interpretation, and Public Service (2018)
- New York State Historic Preservation Award (2018), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Video
National LGBTQ+ Survey and Network
Beginning in the 1990s, multiple efforts throughout the United States have conveyed LGBT history through historic sites. Yet, there is limited knowledge of what and where these efforts are and who’s doing the work. The LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Survey was launched in the fall of 2023 to identify these efforts with the goal of developing an informal national network.
The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project took the lead in catalyzing these efforts, retaining consultants, developing and working with a committee, and safeguarding the information.
The work was funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Advocacy
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Public Testimony
Testimony in support of proposed landmarks:
- Audre Lorde Residence (June 4, 2019)
- Caffe Cino (June 4, 2019)
- GAA Firehouse (June 4, 2019)
- James Baldwin Residence (June 4, 2019)
- LGBT Community Center (June 4, 2019)
- Women’s Liberation Center (June 4, 2019)
- Lesbian Herstory Archives (October 25, 2022)
- Julius’ Bar Building (November 15, 2022)
- Modulightor Building (November 28, 2023)
Recommendations
The Project has advocated for the protection of LGBT landmarks through meetings with LPC staff and collaborations with other groups.
- Walt Whitman Residence, support of request for evaluation (November 2017)
- LGBT Historic Sites Recommendations (part 1) for the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (February 2019)
- 80 Fifth Avenue (former National Gay Task Force Headquarters), letter of support (June 2021)
- LGBT Historic Site Recommendations (part 2) for the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (July 2021)
Outside New York City
In cases where a potential LGBT landmark outside New York City has a connection to the Project’s work, we have provided letters or testimony in support of designation.
- Lyon-Martin House, San Francisco, CA (February 12, 2021)
- Gilbert Baker’s Rainbow Flagpole Installation, San Francisco, CA (December 2, 2021)
- Firebrand Books, Ithaca, NY (July 29, 2022)
- Morris Kight Residence, Los Angeles, CA (June 5, 2022)