Christopher Park

Christopher Park is a small triangular park in the West Village at the intersection of Christopher Street, West 4th Street, and Grove Street, directly across from the Stonewall Inn. The park is inextricably linked to the LGBTQ+ rights movement and the events of June 1969 that launched the modern fight for equality.

On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar at 51-53 Christopher Street, triggering a series of spontaneous protests and clashes that continued for several nights. Christopher Park and the surrounding streets served as the primary gathering point for demonstrators who fought back against a long history of police harassment and discrimination.

In 1992, sculptor George Segal's Gay Liberation monument was installed in the park, depicting two same-sex couples (two women standing and two men seated on a bench) in a naturalistic style. The work was one of the first public artworks in the world to honor the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2016, President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument, encompassing Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn, and surrounding streets, as the first national monument honoring LGBTQ+ history. The designation recognized the global significance of the Stonewall uprising.

Christopher Park, despite its tiny footprint, carries an enormous weight of history. It stands as a permanent physical connection to the moment when the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement was born, visited by thousands of people from around the world who come to honor the courage of those who stood up at Stonewall.