Minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in all 50 states, LGBT advocates and curious onlookers flocked to a well-known gay bar, decked out with rainbow flags, located on the corner of Christopher Street and Grove Street in Manhattan’s West Village. That bar, the Stonewall Inn, was recently declared a landmark for its significance in LGBT history.
In the 1960s, police frequently raided bars like the Stonewall Inn to arrest gay people. The raids culminated in a riot that began during the early hours of June 28, 1969. By the end of the rioting that morning, “13 people had been arrested. Some in the crowd were hospitalized, and four police officers were injured. Almost everything in the Stonewall Inn was broken. Pay phones, toilets, mirrors, jukeboxes, and cigarette machines were all smashed, possibly in the riot and possibly by the police,” the Stonewall Inn says on its website. Another day of rioting took place, which resulted in the arrests of five people.