Gay New York Attractions

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is the heart and home of New York's gay community. It provides many key services, including sexual health screenings, community programs and wellness events.

Over 400 community groups meet here. The Center operates seven days a week, 365 days a year, providing a welcoming space for all members of the LGBTQ+ community to connect, find support, and celebrate their identities.

History of New York's LGBTQ+ Center

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center—commonly known as The Center—was founded in 1983 in response to the growing need for a dedicated space for New York City’s LGBTQ+ community. Located in a former school building at 208 West 13th Street in the West Village, it emerged as one of the most important community spaces in the city. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, The Center played a crucial role in organizing efforts during the HIV/AIDS crisis, providing a meeting space for groups like ACT UP and GMHC. Today, it remains one of the most influential LGBTQ+ institutions in the U.S., providing key services and also preserving history at the LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

You don't need to be a resident to visit. If you're visiting New York you can still pop in and see it for yourself. You may even be inclined to explore the archive.

The Stonewall Inn was raided in 1969. Gay bars in New York were often raided but on this occasion, the patrons fought back. Protests broke out in New York the following day, kickstarting the gay liberation movement.

Ten years later a monument in Greenwich Village was built in Christopher Park by artist George Segal to mark the occasion. It's called Gay Liberation and it depicts a gay couple and a lesbian couple. It's one of the major LGBT+ landmarks in New York City.

Bethesda Fountain is topped by the Angel of the Waters, a great work by the lesbian sculptor Emma Stebbins, completed in 1868. It's a major LGBT+ attraction in New York and it's right in the heart of Central Park overlooking The Lake.

Located on 12th Street in Manhatten, the New York City AIDS Memorial commemorates the lives of over a hundred thousand citizens who died from the disease. It was designed by the artist Jenny Holzer.

Located in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village, this is one of the only gay bookshops left. It was formed in 2012 on a volunteer basis.

It doesn't just stock books. This is also a community space. There are regular events, including film screenings and discussion groups.

You'll find it in room 210 of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 West 13th Street.

This building served as the headquarters of the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA)  in the early 70s. It was for a time New York's key LGBT political and community space. The interior was ruined in an arson attack in 1974.

Today it's home to a Swiss Army shop. It was recently designated as an NYC landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Located in Greenwich Village, Judson Memorial Church is as close a New York gets to having a gay church. This church has been advocating gay rights since the 1950s. It played a big role in the 1980s helping to provide resources to people living with HIV.

It even hosts an annual Gay Pride Sunday Service. A considerable percentage of its congregation is LGBT+.

The Daughters of Bilitis is a key landmark in New York's lesbian history. The organisation was formed in San Francisco in the 1950s. Barbara Gittings, the gay rights activist, opened the New York outlet. It's now - surprise surprise - an apartment block.

Back in the day, it hosted events, academic activities and social occasions, all geared towards lesbian liberation and community activism. Friends of Sappho can visit and pay their respects to the sisters who paved the way. So many of them were Daughters of Bilitis.

Known as the narrowest house in NYC, the former home of LGBT writer Edna St. Vincent Millay is something of a landmark. She opened the Cherry Lane Theatre, a hub of avant-garde performance. Gay anthropologist Margaret Mead also lived here, as did the cartoonist William Steig.

It's just 9 feet 6 inches - blink and you'll miss it. Keep an eye out for the blue plaque. Worth a quick look if you're strolling around the West Village.