An Important New Initiative with National Reach including a Grant Program, Resources, and Forum

We are tremendously proud of what the small-but-mighty team behind the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project has accomplished in our first ten years. Since our founding in 2015, our impact has grown beyond the five boroughs and we’re widely regarded as a model for statewide and national LGBTQ historic preservation.

While the Project remains focused on New York City, we’re pleased to be affiliated with the LGBTQ+ Heritage Alliance—a new national initiative independently launched with oversight by co-director Ken Lustbader.

The Alliance is dedicated to connecting and supporting those working to identify and document LGBTQ+ place-based heritage across the U.S. It proudly offers the first national grant program focused on LGBTQ+ place-based history, and its website serves as a hub for those engaged in this work.

New Website with Resources and Discussion Board

The Alliance’s new website features a private discussion board where individuals can connect, ask questions, and collaborate on LGBTQ+ place-based initiatives. This forum is supported by a resources page that includes a nationwide survey of existing efforts, key documents from national recognition programs, and historic context statements exploring LGBTQ+ history at both the state and local levels.

New Grant Program

The Alliance is also launching the first-ever national grant program dedicated to funding efforts that identify, document, and interpret historic places connected to the LGBTQ+ community. For more information, please see the grant guidelines on the website.

The application process consists of two steps. First, submit a Letter of Intent by Monday, July 21. Selected applicants will then be invited to submit a full grant proposal by fall 2025. Letters will be reviewed by a national grant committee.

For additional information, please email [email protected].

Please note: Due to heightened political sensitivity surrounding LGBTQ+ issues, we ask that you share this opportunity only within your trusted personal and professional networks and use caution when posting on social media.

Thank you to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for speaking with Ken for “Expanding Collective History with the LGBTQ+ Heritage Alliance: A Q&A with Ken Lustbader on the new initiative and its LGBTQ+ place-based grant program.”

SHARE YOUR STORY, SHAPE OUR HISTORY
Celebrate Christopher Street as our 500th Site on Monday, June 23rd at 5PM

New York City’s iconic Christopher Street—a historic landmark of LGBTQ+ life and activism, including the 1969 Stonewall Uprising—is the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project’s 500th documented site!

WE’RE CELEBRATING! Join us for a special memory-sharing meetup at the Stonewall National Monument to mark this incredible milestone. For a decade, the Project has uncovered hidden LGBTQ+ histories across the five boroughs, and now it’s time to add your voice to the story of Christopher Street.

We’re calling on all who have memories tied to this vibrant corridor to share their stories. Come for an informal meetup and recording session where we’ll capture your recollections of Christopher Street. Meet the Project’s co-directors, manager, and communications team; connect with your community; and reminisce together.

Monday, June 23rd (rain or shine)
Meeting at the entrance to the Stonewall National Monument
Seventh Avenue entrance at Christopher Street

5PM — Welcome and remarks by the Project team
5:15PM — Memory recording begins. While you wait, connect with your community and reminisce!

Bring along any photos, buttons, t-shirts, or other memorabilia that connect to your memories of Christopher Street! Let’s travel back in time together through our shared stories.

TELL US YOU’RE COMING!

Join us for stroll of Greenwich Village as we explore the lesbian community’s connections to one of the world’s most famous neighborhoods. We’ll cover places that speak to the evolution of the lesbian bar, from the 1910s onward, and gathering spots run by women for women that popped up in the Village in the 1970s. Stops along the way include the former homes of notable lesbians who have helped shape American history and culture.

The tour, lead by a project co-founder and manager, will last approximately 1 1/2 hours. Meet under the Arch in Washington Square Park. Walking tour will take place rain or shine.

To register groups of 5 or more, please contact us at [email protected].

REGISTER HERE

This is a FUNDRAISING tour; all money raised will support the ongoing work of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project.

Select events are funded, in part, by grants from New York Community Trust, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and New York City Tourism Foundation.

Pictured, the Mad Hatter at 150 West 4th Street, Manhattan. Co-owner Eliza “Jimmie” Criswell, c. 1916. Photo by Jessie Tarbox Beals. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.