LGBT History of the East Village: A Walking Tour

The Stonewall Riot of 1969 is often regarded as the birth of the modern LGBT movement, inspiring people across the country to organize in support of gay rights. But gay culture has a long history in New York.

Back in the 1880s queer and transvestite bordellos opened on the Bowery not far from the theaters where, 80 years later, Andy Warhol staged transvestite musicals for gay audiences. The East Village was home to the pre-eminent gay artists of the 20th century—Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Taylor Mead, William S. Burroughs, Quentin Crisp, Klaus Nomi, Keith Haring, among many more. There they found the freedom to write, perform, paint, create, and flourish as themselves, surrounded by the radical arts, activism, and anarchy of the neighborhood. On this walking tour, we will explore significant sites of gay history, along with the artists, writers and musicians whose contributions dovetailed with LGBT culture.