Oscar Wilde Bookshop

The Oscar Wilde Bookshop was founded in nineteen sixty-seven by activist Craig Rodwell as the first bookstore in the United States dedicated to gay and lesbian literature. Rodwell drew inspiration from the Christian Science reading rooms of his youth, aiming to create a space that offered positive, dignified representations of gay life rather than the adult-oriented material commonly found in stores at the time. He deliberately chose a storefront location on Mercer Street to be as visible as possible, refusing to hide the shop's purpose or his own identity during an era when simply being an open activist carried significant legal and social risks.