Outdoor Public Spaces
overview
This curated collection highlights LGBT history associated with outdoor public spaces — parks, beaches, and playgrounds — that are almost all under the auspices of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Sites include commemorative markers and memorials, works of art, and activist and cruising locations in parks, beaches, and plazas.
Also included are public spaces named after notable LGBT people, some of which intentionally honor a person’s LGBT identity.
Historic Sites in Outdoor Public Spaces
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Audre Lorde Walk, on Staten Island, honors an... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Alice Austen Park, on Staten Island, inadvertently honors... Learn More
The beaches, boardwalk, and parking lots of South Beach have been Staten Island’s most popular LGBT cruising areas since at least the 1960s. At times these have been contested grounds,... Learn More
Once a home for aged sailors, the Sailors’ Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens has been an important venue for LGBT culture and events since the 1980s. In particular,... Learn More
In June 1969, a week before the Stonewall uprising, a group of local Queens residents formed a “vigilante committee” to harass gay men cruising in a nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park... Learn More
The isolated eastern end of the beach at Jacob Riis Park has been a location for LGBT sunbathing and cruising since the 1940s. Historically, it has been the most popular... Learn More
Marsha P. Johnson was a Black trans activist and Stonewall veteran who became a key figure in the gay liberation movement after the Stonewall uprising, specifically fighting for trans rights... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Walt Whitman Park, in Brooklyn, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
From the 1950s through the 1980s, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was one of the city’s most popular and well-known gay male cruising areas. It became contested ground during the 1960s... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Steuben Playground, in Brooklyn, inadvertently honors an LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Eleanor Roosevelt Playground, in Brooklyn, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Mabel Hampton Gardens, in the Bronx, specifically honors... Learn More
Orchard Beach, located in Pelham Bay Park and sometimes referred to as “the Bronx Riviera,” has long been a meeting and cruising location for LGBT people of color, in particular.... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Alexander Hamilton Playground, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. James Baldwin Lawn, in Manhattan’s St. Nicholas Park,... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Langston Hughes Playground, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
In 1986, Keith Haring painted his iconic Crack is Wack mural on a handball court wall visible from the Harlem River Drive (the mural there today is actually his second... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Abraham Lincoln Playground, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
Central Park has had numerous associations with the LGBT community since its creation in 1857, including many areas popular for meeting and cruising, associations with Gay Pride Marches, its restoration... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Lorraine Hansberry Plaza, in Manhattan, honors an LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
On April 18, 1965, the fourth-ever gay rights demonstration in the United States – and the third in New York City – took place at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, across the... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Wald Playground, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors an LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Lillian D. Wald Playground, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Founding Father Alexander Hamilton lived in this house – which was built for him and his family in 1802 – until his death in 1804, though the house has since been relocated... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
City Hall Park is the earliest known documented gay male cruising area in Manhattan, according to newspaper accounts beginning in the early 1840s. Learn More
Architect Philip Johnson and artists Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol are all associated with the New York State Pavilion, built for the 1964 New York World’s... Learn More
The outdoor performance space at the southwest corner of Lincoln Center has served New York City since its opening in 1969. Importantly, in 1986, it hosted the first-ever AIDS Walk... Learn More
Located just across from the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park has been at the center of the LGBT rights movement since the historic 1969 uprising. The park was included within the... Learn More
For several years in the 1990s, the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA) led “Desi Dhamaka” protests in Madison Square Park in response to being banned from participating in... Learn More
The Angel of the Waters statue atop the Bethesda Fountain is the 1860s masterpiece of lesbian sculptor Emma Stebbins and was the earliest public artwork by a woman in New York City. In... Learn More
The New York City AIDS Memorial — dedicated on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2016 — honors the more than 100,000 New Yorkers who have died of AIDS since the... Learn More
First organized by the Lesbian Avengers in 1993, the NYC Dyke March is an annual march from Bryant Park to Washington Square for self-identified dykes who advocate for increased lesbian... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Socrates Sculpture Park, in Astoria, Queens, inadvertently honors... Learn More
In 2009, this small landscaped parcel was dedicated Arthur W. Strickler Triangle in memory of the longtime Greenwich Village resident and community activist. Strickler, born in Brooklyn, is credited with... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. Margaret Mead Green, in Manhattan, inadvertently honors an... Learn More
Many New York City public parks and playgrounds are named in honor of prominent figures in New York City and American history. In addition, there are memorials that honor LGBT... Learn More