Stonewall Inn

The building you are approaching began as a pair of horse stables in the mid nineteenth century. Before it became a world famous landmark, these two structures at fifty one and fifty three Christopher Street were joined together to serve as a bakery. By the nineteen sixties, the space had been transformed into a gay bar operated by the Genovese crime family. At the time, the city strictly prohibited serving alcohol to homosexuals, and the Mafia capitalized on this by running unlicensed bars that offered a rare, albeit precarious, space for the community to gather. Because they lacked legitimate liquor licenses, these clubs were subject to constant police raids that were often used by corrupt officers to collect bribes or perform show arrests.