Preserving Pride: Exploring LGBTQ+ History and Advocacy with Village Preservation
Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo are widely recognized as the historic heart of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. At Village Preservation, celebrating this rich legacy isn’t a seasonal event in June, but a 365-day-a-year mission to document, honor, and protect the cultural history and physical spaces where history was made. Our interactive resources, archival collections, and active advocacy campaigns work to keep this vibrant heritage alive. Here are some of the incredible items and resources you can explore:
Interactive LGBTQ+ History Maps and Tours
Our website maintains a number of digital tours and resources including our:
- Greenwich Village Historic District LGBTQ+ Sites Tour, mapping nearly 40 critical landmarks
- East Village Building Blocks LGBTQ Tour, which spotlights the often-overlooked homes of radical LGBTQ+ artists, writers, and activists
- Civil Rights and Social Justice Map, which includes over 50 sites crucial to LGBTQ+ history
- South of Union Square LGBTQ History Tour highlights 15 vital sites connected to legendary figures like Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol.
Historic Image Archive
Our Historic Image Archive hosts incredible LGBTQ+ themed photography collections, such as the two Jillian Jonas collections, which capture the fiery and flamboyant downtown drag scene of the 1990s, the Robert Fisch Collection, which documents the gay scene in the 1980s and 90s, and the James Cuebas Collection, which documents the West Side Piers of the early 1980s. See all LGBTQ+ photos here by clicking the LGBTQ+ tag and read more about LGBTQ+ history on the Historic Image Archive here.
Oral Histories
Visitors can also listen to first-hand accounts of LGBTQ+ history and themes through our Oral History Collection, preserving the voices of pioneers who lived through the triumphs and struggles of early gay liberation. Sort by the LGBTQ tag to identify over 15 oral histories with links to LGBQ+ history.
For example, as Lower Manhattan’s elected representative for 35 years, Deborah Glick was a leading advocate for civil rights, reproductive freedom, animal welfare and environmental preservation, the arts, and tenants’ rights. Glick was the first openly LGBTQ member of the State legislature when elected in 1990, and a leader in the fight for marriage equality.
Hard-Won Landmark Victories
Until 2015, not a single site in New York City was landmarked specifically for its LGBTQ+ history. Village Preservation led successful, groundbreaking campaigns to change that. Thanks to these efforts, our website documents the landmark designations of iconic sites like the Stonewall Inn, Julius’ Bar (site of the historic 1966 “Sip-In”), and the LGBTQ+ Community Center.
Current Advocacy: The Fight South of Union Square
Preservation is an ongoing battle. Right now, one of our primary efforts is a campaign to secure a historic district South of Union Square. This area includes the first headquarters of the National Gay Task Force, the country’s first national LGBTQ+ rights organization, where monumental legal and social strides were made post-Stonewall. The city has continually resisted landmarking this area, and our website offers quick, direct ways for the community to take action, send letters to city leadership, and join the fight to protect these vulnerable pieces of our collective story.
Read about ALL Village Preservation efforts to preserve LGBTQ+ history here.