Groundbreaking of a new visitor center at Stonewall National Monument to kick off NYC Pride

A certain Greenwich Village dive bar will soon have its own National Park Service (NPS)-operated visitor center.

As first announced yesterday by the social advocacy and community engagement nonprofit Pride Live, an informational and educational hub located directly adjacent to storied watering hole the Stonewall Inn will break ground this Friday with a planned opening date next summer.

The roughly 3,700-square-foot facility—to be located at 51 Christopher Street—will be the first-ever visitor center within the national park system exclusively focused on LGBTQ+ history. As noted in a press release announcing the future Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center (SNMVC), 51 Christopher Street was part of the original Stonewall Inn; in its current downsized form, the legendary bar known for its cheap drinks and upstairs drag shows is located at 53 Christopher Street. As noted by Pride Live, “the future home of the SNMVC will reunite the historic Stonewall Inn and memorialize the events of the Stonewall Rebellion in their authentic locations.” The space will be co-managed by the NPS and Pride Live.

As detailed in Pride Live’s announcement, the forthcoming visitor center “will offer an immersive experience welcoming all people to explore and experience LGBTQ+ history and culture through in-person and virtual tours, lecture series, exhibitions and visual arts displays.” It will also serve as a hub for the NPS rangers who serve as dedicated stewards of the 7.7-acre Stonewall National Monument.

MBB Architects has been tapped to helm the design of the SNMVC and will work alongside LGBTQ+ historians, activists, and community leaders. Local Projects will lead the experiential and exhibit design.

Anchored by the Stonewall Inn, the Stonewall National Monument was designated by former president Barack Obama in 2016 as the first national monument dedicated to LGBQ+ history; in addition to the Stonewall Inn itself, the monument also encompasses the streets and sidewalks surrounding the illustrious gay bar where the Stonewall Rebellion of June 28, 1969, unfolded. Widely considered as the event that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States, the Stonewall uprising occurred when the tavern’s predominately gay and trans clientele—Marsha P Johnson among them—collectively said enough is enough and fought back following an onslaught of police harassment that culminated in a raid in the early morning of June 28. Thirteen Stonewall patrons and employees were arrested during the melee and an extended period of protests, some violent, followed in the days after. The event was a hugely catalytic one, inspiring mass organization among LGBTQ+ Americans.

“On this spot, an energized group of people created a movement for equality that continues to this day,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams in a statement. “The visitor center and its exhibits will celebrate and acknowledge LGBTQ+ accomplishments and serve as a place where people can learn about and connect with the LGBTQ+ community’s ongoing struggle for civil liberties.”

The SNMVC is being funded in part by the largesse of the community and its allies; as detailed by Pride Live, the effort also includes more than a few major corporate and foundational supporters including, among others, Google, Target, The Kors Le Pere Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., the New York Yankees, and Amazon. Prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community including Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi and Lana and Lilly Wachowski are also among the backers. Global activist and ally Josephine Skriver contributed the inaugural donation to the campaign.

This Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony will be livestreamed on YouTube beginning at 10:30 A.M. ET.