Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gay Power
LGBT resentment reached boiling point on June 28, 1969, the day on which eight police officers raided the
Stonewall Inn, a gay-friendly watering hole in Greenwich Village. Fed up with both the harassment and corrupt
officers receiving payoffs from the bars' owners, they began bombarding the officers with coins, bottles, bricks
and chants of 'Gay power' and 'We shall overcome'. They were also met by a line of high-kicking drag queens
and their now legendary chant, 'We are the Stonewall girls, we wear our hair in curls, we wear no underwear, we
show our pubic hair, we wear our dungarees, above our nelly knees…'. Their collective anger and solidarity was
a turning point, forming the catalyst for the modern gay rights movement.
5
Pier 45
PIER
Known to many as the Christopher Street Pier, this 850ft-long finger of concrete dips into
the mighty Hudson River. Pimped with a grass lawn, flowerbeds, an outdoor cafe, tented
shade shelters and a stop for the New York Water Taxi, it's a magnet for downtowners of
all stripes, from local families with toddlers in daylight to mobs of young gays looking to
cruise.
(W 10th St at Hudson River;
1 to Christopher St-Sheridan Sq)
6
Grace Church
Designed in 1843 by James Renwick Jr, this Gothic Revival Episcopal church was made
of marble quarried by prisoners at 'Sing Sing,' the state penitentiary 30 miles away. After
years of neglect, Grace Church is being spiffed up in a major way. Now it's a National
Landmark, whose elaborate carvings, towering spire and verdant, and groomed yard are
sure to stop you in your tracks as you make your way down this otherwise ordinary stretch
of the Village.
(
CHURCH
212-254-2000;
www.gracechurchnyc.org
; 802 Broadway at 10th St;
10am-5pm, services
daily;
N/R to 8th St-NYU; 6 to Astor Pl)
