West
Village is a part of Greenwich
Village and roughly contains the area between 6th Avenue and
Hudson River. Christopher Street, where the gay liberation
movement started, is located in this neighborhood. In the
1960s violent police raids took place in gay bars througout
the city, but on June 27, 1969 the gay crowd in the
Stonewall Inn defended themselves and the police were
frightened away. This event led to a solidarity among the
people in the Village and in large numbers they resisted
police harassement directed towards their community for the
first time. These events, known as the Stonewall riots,
are of big importance for the gay liberation movement. In
the whole world Christopher Street Days are celebrated to
remind people of the hard struggle of gay liberation.
The neighborhood is
still known as the gay village and many gay bars and clubs
are located there, but the area also attracts many non-gay
people and tourists because of good restaurants, cafés and
its nightlife. The oldest gay and lesbian bookstore "Oscar
Wilde Bookshop" founded in 1967 is located on Christopher
Street.
Photos of Christopher Street >>
Color Photos of the West Village >>
