6 Historic LGBT Sites Are Now Official Landmarks

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Six buildings important to the history of the LGBT community in New York City were officially landmarked Tuesday.

The six sites — in the West Village, Chelsea, SoHo, Staten Island, and the Upper West Side — join Stonewall Inn as a landmark, which was designated in 2015.

"I am very proud of these designations, which recognize that despite the obstacles they faced, the LGBT community has thrived in New York City," Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sarah Carroll said in a statement.

Tuesday's vote coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and WorldPride, which is being held in the U.S. for the first time.

Earlier this month, the LPC held a public hearing where several testified in support of landmarking the six buildings — which highlight the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the LGBT rights movement.

Off-off-broadway theatre was born in Cafe Cinno, which became a haven for gay playwrights. Community centers that were landmarked served as places for LGBT social services, political organizing and parties. Residences of African-American writers James Baldwin and Audre Lorde were also landmarked.

Andrew S. Dolkart, co-director of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, which was among groups that recommended these historic sites to be landmarked, said the organization was "absolutely thrilled" by Tuesday's vote.

Dolkart added in a statement the historic sites project hopes the designations "will be a model not only for continuing recognition in New York City, but for designations across the country beyond Stonewall 50 celebrations."

In 2014, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation proposed landmarking two of the sites: the LGBT Community Center and the Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse.

The preservationist group's executive director, Andrew Berman, said in a statement: "We are deeply gratified that after a five-year campaign the Landmarks Preservation Commission has landmarked these incredibly important sites which tell such a critical part of New York and our nation’s history over the last half-century."

"All the threads of the rich tapestry of our city's history deserve to be recognized and preserved," Berman said.

Berman's organization is also urging the LPC to landmark Julius' Bar at 159 W. 10th St.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement, "New York City played such an important role in moving the LGBTQ civil rights movement forward and we owe it to those who fought in this movement to ensure that their legacy lives on. These sites memorialize the diversity and intersectionality of the LGBTQ rights movement and will make excellent additions to the city’s amazing list of landmarks."

The six buildings that were landmarked include:

• Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse at 99 Wooster St. in SoHo: The GAA used this building as its headquarters in the early 1970s and is considered the city's "first gay community center."
• Women's Liberation Center at 243 W. 20th St. in Chelsea: The Women's Liberation Center was located in this building from 1972 to 1987 and served as an advocacy space for lesbians in the feminist movement.
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 W. 13th St. in the West Village: The center has provided resources and advocates of LGBT rights, health and wellness issues since 1984.
• The Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia St. in the West Village: Known as the birthplace of off-off-broadway theatre, this coffee shop served as a venue where gay playwrights could portray LGBT stories in theatrical productions from 1958 to 1968.
• James Baldwin Residence at 137 W. 71st St. in the Upper West Side: African-American civil rights activists and novelist, James Baldwin, lived in this building. He was known for his essays and civil rights activism, and spokes about his sexuality at a forum held by the gay and anti-racism group Black and White Men Together in NYC.
• Audre Lorde Residence at 207 St. Paul's Avenue in Staten Island: African-American feminist and novelist lived in this building in the 70s and 80s. At this home in Staten Island, she wrote, "From a Land Where Other People Live."