GAY & LESBIAN TRAVEL STORIES

The Most Historic LGBT Places in the U.S.

Some are obvious, some a little less so. But trying to pin down a list of the places where the most influential events of American LGBT History went down is tricky. History is personal; we all interpret it differently. But assembled here is a quick

Historic Gay Places See Photos

list of some of the places where the LGBT community made history. Some are jubilant and revolutionary, some are painful. But they’re all places that, as you travel around the U.S. this summer, they’re worth stopping to pay tribute.

The Stonewall Inn, Christopher Street, NYC

Every movement has its rallying focal point, its birthplace, its Plymouth Rock. And a little bar on Christopher Street in New York's Greenwich Village is recognized across the planet as the birthplace of the modern-day LGBT rights movement. Yep, that volatile June 27th night back in 1969 when things got rowdy at the Stonewall has gone down in history that change the course of gay lives worldwide forever. It's amazing to think that that a crowd of scrappy drag queens, lesbians and gay men (a group that was largely people of color) pushed the edge, finally gathering their courage to fight back against police harassment (kicking off three nights of civil unrest and riots) would send a message globally and historically that gay folks were done being pushed around, no questions asked. It's a reminder that people and their actions can make a difference. And yes, the place is actually a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Wurk!

And yes, there's still a Stonewall Inn

in that same location at 53 Christopher Street, right on Sheridan Square. You can visit, have a drink and pay homage in whatever way you choose. The venue itself has changed hands many times through the years, and weirdly, it's never quite managed to live up to its world-renowned, fabulous pedigree. The club nights there always tend to be a bit wonky and the crowd veers toward a random mix of tourists, city kids and bridge-and-tunnel gays. Yep, the Stonewall today may be many things, but "cool" isn't one of them. But that's not the point. The place and what it represents is legendary. And respect is due. Thanks to the antics that went on here 39 years ago, gay life as we know it exists.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, NYC

Also in New York's Greenwich Village (Hey, you can't fight history. New York is where many of our community's landmarks live.), the former Food & Trades High School opened its doors in 1983 as the Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center. Ever since, the venue has been a haven for groups to meet, for a community to rally, for artists and writers and performers to entertain, and just to generally cultivate the growth of our people politically, culturally and socially.

But the reason New Yorks' LGBT Center makes this list is because it was also the birthplace of ACT UP (the AIDS Coaltion to Unleash Power) founded on March 10, 1987 by Larry Kramer and a group of activists dissatisfied with the government and the already existing Gay Men's Health Crisis response in dealing with the exploding AIDS epidemic. ACT UP went on to revolutionize grass-roots activism, civil disobedience, political action and healthcare. They changed how governments and the media approached AIDS, and they taught other groups who combat disease how to get results. And, in the process, they saved innumerable gay lives.

The Center is still open and thriving, hosting speakers, classes, workshops and social events daily.

Castro Street, San Francisco

Maybe the most iconic address in gaydom (alongside New York's Christopher Street), San Francisco's Castro Street is the mecca for free-spirited gayness. Where New York is intense and righteous, Castro Street is pure California-breezy hopefulness. It's where hippie meets camp meets leather queens and a limitless sense of self.

It's the Castro Theater (with it's blissfully old-school organ), it's the streetcars of nearby Market Street, it's the hilly geography, it's the chilly breezes off the bay... It's just the historic sense of crunchy free-love infused warmth. This was the stomping ground of Harvey Milk, of the Cockettes, of legendary leather queens and drag divas. It's where sailors found themselves after World War II and realized they never needed to go home again. Plus, it's full of bars, eateries, shopping and completely unironic rainbow flags. For gays everywhere, it's home.