Following up on their monumental work of cataloguing hundreds of hidden, historic LGBT sites across the city, the preservationists behind the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project have now launched an interactive map showcasing some of their work.
The group is all set to present its work tomorrow at a WeWork location near City Hall. Aside from talking about the map, which DNAinfo first reported on, the group will also talk about tours that highlight LGBT history in the city before the 20th century, and that talk about activism prior to Stonewall.
The group is led by architectural historian and Columbia University professor, Andrew Dolkart, historic preservation consultant Ken Lustbader, and a former historian at the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, Jay Shockley. Their website launched in August 2015, and their work largely involves identifying sites of historic importance and relevance to the LGBT community.
They scour through archives and textbooks and comb through collections at the New York Public Library, the LGBT Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, among other places. One of the major goals for the group is to get more national recognition for these sites. For instance, the National Register of Historic Places lists 92,000 sites across the country but only 13 are LGBT-related. The group is hoping that its work will help that number change.
Their interactive map can be filtered by various categories including the time period, different neighborhoods and fields like architecture and literature. Sites on the list include photographer Alice Austen’s house on Staten Island, Julius’ Bar, and Truman Capote’s apartment in Brooklyn Heights.
You can learn more about them on April 25 at WeWork City Hall (222 Broadway, 19th Floor) from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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