Nightlife
West Village

A Night at the Stonewall Inn

Photos by Elizabeth Bick, Text by Brian Sloan 4/16/2019Updated 10/11/2022

In the summer of 1969, a routine raid on a West Village gay bar became a turning point in LGBTQ+ history and sparked a revolution. A little more than 50 years later, the

Stonewall Inn

was named the first

LGBTQ national monument

, and today it remains an active bar and nightclub, with happy hours, karaoke, cabaret shows, a pool table and dancing. It attracts a diverse crowd of lesbians, gay men, trans people and allies from all over NYC and the world.

In 2019, just before WorldPride came to NYC to mark Stonewall's 50th anniversary, we chatted with patrons through happy hour at the main bar and karaoke and the rocking

girlNATIONnyc

dance party—a monthly event—upstairs. Click through to meet them and to see what draws people to this landmark.

Stonewall Inn, Manhattan, West Village, NYC, Gay Bar, historic, LGBTQ