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Before NYC’s Stonewall Inn there was Julius’ — now an official city landmark
By
Olivia Ebertz
Published Dec 7, 2022
Modified Dec 7, 2022
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City of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission
By
Olivia Ebertz
Published Dec 7, 2022
Modified Dec 7, 2022
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The LGBTQ bar Julius' will officially go down in New York City history after the Landmarks Preservation Commission granted it “individual landmark” status this week.
In 1966, three years before the Stonewall riots, a gay rights group used the location to challenge regulations by the State Liquor Authority requiring bartenders to refuse service to gay people.
Members of the Mattachine Society, the country’s largest gay rights group at the time, held a protest event at the West Village bar they called a "sip-in."
“Julius' had been having problems with police harassing them, setting them up for reasons that were very murky,” said Randy Wicker, one of the original organizers, in an interview with the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project last year, marking the 55th anniversary of the sip-in.
The idea was for patrons to openly declare their homosexuality and, when refused service, expose the law as unconstitutional.
“We came in, said we are homosexuals, and demanded to be served,” Wicker said. “We raised this issue and that led to the repeal of those regulations.”
Wicker and his group came to the sip-in with an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union. When they were denied service, the group took action against the State Liquor Authority.
The new status by the city follows a 2015 designation of Julius’ on the New York State Register of Historic Places. In 2016, the bar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The new designation means the Landmarks Preservation Commission has to approve “any alteration, reconstruction, demolition or new construction affecting the designated building,” according to the commission.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams commended the designation in a statement on Tuesday.
“Honoring a location where New Yorkers were once denied service solely on account of their sexuality reinforces something that should already be clear: LGBTQ+ New Yorkers are welcome anywhere in our city,” he said.
Tagged
LGBTQ
Landmarks Preservation Commision
civil rights
Olivia Ebertz
Olivia is a former WNYC and Gothamist assistant producer.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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