Jason McLeod
Professor Geisking
2/26/17
For my site I chose the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Community center at 208 west 13th street in New York City. I chose this site for it’s important role in the community surrounding it and the great metropolitan area both in the past and the present. The LGBT community center was opened in 1983 in the old maritime trade school building. The goal of the lgbt community center is to create a tight knit community for lgbt people of all ages. They house many lgbt organizations including social activism groups, rights groups and community groups. They pride themselves on the fact that they service and protect youths of all races and religions and even older groups of people.
I found this site interesting because of its history in the lgbt community as a community meeting place. Since 1983, many groups have called the community center home and the community center has been involved in someway in many of the social justice campaigns for lgbt people in New York. The community center has become a strong and important part of New York lgbt life. I found the fact that many LGBT youth in New York City sited the community center as a safe space for them to find out more regarding their sexuality and meet people who they could identify with unlike their schools where they might have been bullied and isolated because of their sexual preferences. I found that to be the most important work by the community center, helping people find themselves and helping people find happiness.
When faced with the question of “what about this site speaks to a core component of LGBTQ history?” I couldn’t help but think, “what doesn’t?” As the hub of LGBTQ life and activism in New York City it practically is a core component in and of itself. I felt that the idea of a common space for youth and even adults who need help figuring out who they are is so important to LGBTQ history and life. Also, the community center and it’s people has been involved in all of the LGBTQ historical events since 1983 directly or indirectly. Many famous LGBT people have frequented the center including Keith Haring who painted a mural in the bathroom of the community center. It has been a place where many historical LGBT activist groups and has been connecting people with each other for a long time. Also the community center is home to the last LGBT bookstore in New York City. This is extremely historically significant because it is the only brick and mortar place where people can go to get specifically LGBT magazines, history books and novels. It gives LGBT people a place to see people like them in books and media.
I firmly believe that the LGBT community center has more than earned its place among the U.S. national register of historic sites and it will only continue to prove its value in the years to come.