Good morning. It's Friday and today and every Friday during the summer I'll be focusing on what to do in New York on the weekend.
Diana Rodriguez, CEO of Pride Live, which operates the new Stonewall National Monument visitor center, pointed to an old-fashioned jukebox.
“Go ahead, try it,” she said.
I inserted a Stonewall branded coin and chose a song.
As the machine rotated, five seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, Rodriguez explained that it was the same model that was at the Stonewall Inn 55 years ago on the night of the Stonewall Uprising, which ushered in an era of gay pride and activism for gay rights.
Another five seconds passed before the music began: the gospel standard “Oh Happy Day.”
The jukebox is just one element blending past and present at Greenwich Village's $3.2 million visitors center, which opened today after six years in the making. Funded largely by corporate donations, the center commemorates the bar's history and the night in 1969 when a police raid sparked days of rioting.
Considering the importance of the events that took place here and its status as the first national monument for LGBTQ rights and history, the Stonewall Inn is small. However, the Inn wasn't that big to begin with, and there's actually a lot to see.
Preparing the center for today's opening has been a personal project for Rodriguez, 58, who says four generations of her family have served in the U.S. military. Her uncle, Tony Torres, was gay and served in the Army in the Vietnam War, but when he died of AIDS in 1989, no one from his unit attended his funeral.
The flag that was on his casket now sits just inside the entrance, along with his medals and tag, reminding visitors “that what happens in life and that people inspire us,” she said.
How the past has shaped, and continues to shape, the present is a theme that resonates throughout the 2,100-square-foot center, whose vision began to take shape after President Barack Obama designated the site a national monument in 2016. The designation also includes the modern-day Stonewall Inn, a building next door to the visitor's center that was renovated from the original by a different owner. The designation also includes Christopher Park across the street, which was restored in the 1980s and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999.
Rodriguez said the designation was a great first step, but the infrastructure to support it wasn't there. But now it exists.
Black-and-white photos adorning the walls trace Stonewall's history before it became a bar: It once served as a bakery, restaurant and stables before becoming the Stonewall Inn in 1967. The exhibit pays tribute to Stonewall, which inspired organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, as well as the decades-long Pride March that began in 1970 and continues through Sunday. (New York City's Pride March starts at noon on Fifth Avenue and 25th Street and will be broadcast on WABC-TV.)
At one end of the room is a white-walled theater space with 40 chairs lined up in front of a retractable screen, and a dozen shovels bearing the logos of donor companies, including Google and Amazon, are placed along the wall.
But what struck me most as I walked around the space with Rodriguez was the silver outline on the floor, “where the bar used to be,” she said.
A few steps away is an exhibit on Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, founders of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, a group that supported young people marginalized by their families, and two paintings to inaugurate the space for traveling art exhibits. One, “For the Forgotten,” by Ann R. Bennett, shows a man and woman surrounded by wreaths, with their backs to a brick wall.
Another painting, by digital artist Fewocious, depicts a chaotic representation of a cracked face with phrases like “No, it wasn't easy” in the background, which Rodriguez said is a nod to the Stonewall riots and their ongoing legacy.
Weekend Weather
upon FridayAfter dark, you'll enjoy mostly sunny days with low humidity and temperatures in the upper 70s F. Then in the evenings, it will become mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 60s F. The rest of the weekend will see increased humidity and a chance for showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will be in the 80s F during the day and in the upper 60s to lower 70s F at night.
Alternate Parking
It's valid until Thursday (Independence Day).
What else to do this weekend
Pride Weekend
With the kids
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A Weekend in Wonderland: Join the Queen of Hearts New York Botanical Garden will be hosting a “Mad for Summer Family Weekend” on Saturday or Sunday, starting at 1pm each day, with potted begonias, watercolor painting and more. Costumes are encouraged.
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Queer Family MusicalOn Saturday at 2pm, catch a performance of the interactive musical “Rainbow Seekers” at the Children's Museum of Manhattan.
Other local events
For more events happening in New York, see the list here. this month.
Metropolitan Diary
Caught off guard
Dear Diary:
After saving pennies in a glass jar on my windowsill for months, I was finally ready to cash out my tattoo fund.
On my way to work, I used the coin exchange at the bank across from my Midtown office and got $103.87.
At noon, I told my coworker I was going to St. Mark's Place.
“The tattoo shop says they're not busy right now,” I said as I stormed out of the shop with some cash in my hand, “Well, I'll see you after lunch.”
I took the express train one stop to Union Square, then jogged past the Astor Place Cube to St. Marks.
I showed my design to the lady at the front desk.
“How much will it cost and how long will it take?” I asked.
“It's $100,” she said, “and it won't take that long. Half an hour at most.”
Before I could catch my breath, a young woman with short dark bangs, winged eyeliner and latex gloves ushered me to the back of the reception room.
She wiped my forearm and then got to work.
“It's a beautiful name,” she said, drawing the final letters with her ink gun.
“This is for my daughter,” I said excitedly. “She's turning one today.”
I thanked her, gave her a hug and headed to the register.
When it was my turn to pay, I handed the woman $100 and rolled up my sleeve.
“Would you like to leave a tip?” she asked.
I had completely forgotten about it, and all I had left was $3.87, so embarrassed I gave it to them.
I don't think I should go back there again.
Gabriela Ponce
