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The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks


ARCHITECT: Ammon Macvey (central), Thomas R. Jackson and William H. Wilcox

DATE: c. 1869 c. 1879, 1887 (wings)

STYLE: Italianate

cultural landmark cultural site LGBT

Designated: June 18, 2019

Since 1984 208 West 13th Street has been home to the LGBT Center. Hosting cultural programs and speaker events, which brought well-known LGBT figures such as Audre Lorde and Quentin Crisp to meet with members of the lesbian and gay community, the historic building at 208 West 13th Street was a haven for a criminalized population that regularly experienced institutional discrimination. Of the many groups to call The Center home, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights famously worked to promote the Gay Rights Bill through demonstrations and were considered to be instrumental in the New York City Council’s passing of the bill in 1986. Additionally, The Center served as a space of remembrance, memorializing those lost to the AIDS crisis and commemorating the 20th anniversary of Stonewall through an expansive art installation.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks

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Landmark Activity

Jun 3, 2019

HDC@LPC: Designation Testimony – LGBTQ Sites

Review the Testimony

Local Voices

“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

Local Voices

“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx

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