History was made once again at New York’s Stonewall Inn on Monday, when the popular gay bar was officially designated as a national monument to LGBT rights.
The June 27 ceremony drew New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, among others, to the iconic tavern, which is considered the symbolic birthplace of the modern-day LGBT rights movement, CBS New York reports.
President Barack Obama made the designation June 24 ahead of New York’s annual LGBT Pride Parade. Included in the honor was Christopher Park, a small park located across the street from Stonewall in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, as well as streets near the bar.
National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said he “could not be more proud” to include Stonewall in the family of “America’s most important places,” which includes the Grand Canyon and Yosemite.
Jewell echoed those sentiments, noting the designation “ensures that the story of the courageous individuals who stood up for basic rights for LGBT Americans will be forever told, honoring their sacrifice and inspiring our Nation towards greater tolerance and understanding,” according to LGBT Weekly.
The dedication took place 47 years after Stonewall patrons fought back against a police raid in the wee hours of June 28, 1969. At the time, homosexuality was illegal.
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