The bar itself didn't last long after the raid.

Protests followed over several more days and led to new, more extensive and militant LGBTQ activist groups than the U.S. The police raid in the wee hours of June 28, 1969, stirred a sudden resistance, as patrons and others outside the bar hurled objects at officers. But it also had a popular, pulsating dance floor that attracted a diverse, largely young crowd. Some gay nightspots simply operated illegally.Ī onetime horse stable in adjoining buildings at 51 and 53 Christopher Street, the Stonewall was a divey, unlicensed spot with darkened windows, black-painted walls and a doorman who scrutinized would-be patrons through a peephole. At the time, showing same-sex affection or dressing in a way deemed gender-inappropriate could get people arrested, and bars had lost liquor licenses for serving such people. In 1969, the Stonewall was part of a Greenwich Village gay scene that was known, yet not open. The Stonewall Inn stands in part of its original space and serves as a gathering place and beacon for the LGBTQ community and others. 'We understand we're the innkeepers of history,' Lentz said. The fight for LGBTQ equality goes back much further than the Stonewall riots, notes author Eric Cervini who discusses his new book 'The Deviant's War: The Homosexual versus the United States of America.'