Historic gay bar the Stonewall Inn becomes official New York City landmark

Stonewall Inn Entrance
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Stonewall Inn — the Greenwich Village bar known for the police raid that sparked the modern gay rights movement — has been granted official landmark status in a unanimous vote by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The commission's chairwoman, Meenakshi Srinivasan, said the honor came for the bar's role in the history of LGBT rights.

In 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn on the grounds that it was illegal to serve gay people alcohol, or for them to dance with one another. The 200 patrons of the bar refused to cooperate and rioted in protest in what would become a "Rosa Parks moment" in LGBT history.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.