As tens of thousands of revelers hit the streets of New York on Sunday for the city’s annual Pride parade, the National Park Service also had much to celebrate with the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in Greenwich Village.
The museum, the first of its kind for NPS devoted exclusively to telling the story of the nation’s LGBTQ+ history, officially opened Friday, on the 55th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising that launched the modern gay rights movement. The opening of the 2,100-square-foot center at 51 Christopher St. drew a large crowd of activists, entertainers and public officials, including President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
“I’m thrilled. I’m overjoyed. This is a long time coming,” said Timothy Leonard of the National Parks Conservation Association, part of a team that worked for years to get the visitor center up and running after former President Barack Obama designated Stonewall as a national monument in June 2016.
Leonard, a 39-year-old New York native, recalled coming out at 16 when he was a high school junior: “This place is such a powerful example of the stories that need to get told that weren’t told when I was growing up.”
