Stonewall 45: Windows Into LGBT History

In commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a special walking exhibition is being unveiled on Christopher Street, where the modern-day LGBT revolution first began. "Stonewall 45: Windows Into LGBT History," on display through June 29, is a series of poster panels in 26 storefronts lining Christopher Street. The posters recount the story of Stonewall and the political, legal, and cultural barriers encountered by LGBT people in these times. The storefront posters incorporate historic visuals including photographs, newspaper clippings, flyers and newsletters.

"Stonewall 45: Windows Into LGBT History" is cosponsored by the Arcus Foundation and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. For more information visit the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation or The Arcus Foundation.

See a selection of the powerful images on the following pages.

Front page of The Advocate, August, 1969, courtesy of Here Media Inc., all rights reserved; excerpt from 1964 newsletter from the Mattachine Society Inc. of New York records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

Gay Scene Guide, 1968, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

(c) October 31, 1959, The New York Times. Used under license.

(c) December 17, 1963, The New York Times. Used under license.

Mattachine Review masthead, courtesy of Cornell University Library's Human Sexuality Collection; 1960 Mattachine Society publication, Mattachine Society Inc. of New York records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

From Queen's Quarterly magazine, summer 1969, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

The Ladder, January 1959 and October 1965, courtesy of Cornell University Library's Human Sexuality Collection.

Protesters gather outside the Pentagon in 1965. Photo by Kay Tobin, (c) Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library.

Mattachine Society of Washington, "Regulations for Picketing"; Annual Reminder Day in Philadelphia, photo by Kay Tobin Lahusen, courtesy of the John J. Wilcox Jr. LGBT Archives of Philadelphia.

The original Stonewall Inn occupied adjoining storefronts at 51 and 53 Christopher Street. Diana Davies photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

Diana Davies photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations; excerpts from Gay Scene Guide, 1969, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images.

Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images.

Joseph Ambrosini, New York Daily News.

The Advocate, September, 1969, courtesy of Here Media Inc., all rights reserved; Mattachine Society flyer, courtesy of Foster Gunnison Papers, Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries; Village Voice, July 3, 1969, courtesy Voice Media Group.

Graffiti on the boarded-up windows of the Stonewall Inn. Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images.

New York Daily News, July 6, 1969.

Mattachine Society flyer, courtesy of the Foster Gunnison Papers, Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries; cover, Gay Power newspaper; leaflet written by Craig Rodwell, founder of Homophile Youth Movement in Neighborhoods.

Photo by Diana Davies, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library.

Photographs by Richard C. Wandel, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

New York Daily News, March 9, 1970.

The Rockefeller Five in front of the Manhattan Criminal Court Building. Photograph by Richard C. Wandel, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

From The Gay Insider, USA by John Francis Hunter; photograph by Richard C. Wandel, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

Photograph by Richard C. Wandel, courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive.

Diana Davies photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

Mariela Lombard, New York Daily News; Diana Davies photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.