Stonewall Exhibition coming to the Stonewall Museum in Fort Lauderdale! (Photo Courtesy of Stonewall Museum)

‘The Stonewall New York Experience’ to Debut in Fort Lauderdale

January 19, 2024 Vacationer Staff

Queer travelers have another reason to visit Fort Lauderdale, Florida! It’s not another place to shed your clothes, but a queer culture exhibition coming to the popular beach town this summer. The first “Stonewall New York Experience” is launching in Fort Lauderdale at Stonewall-Museum.org on June 1, 2024. This immersive ‘Stonewall IN Stonewall’ experience will be kicking off Pride Month in a time machine of sorts.

From floor to ceiling, the Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library will be transformed into the gritty, historic Stonewall Inn in New York City; every day at this remarkable, interactive experience will be June 28, 1969, in the hours before the historic Stonewall Riots, the galvanizing force sparking the LGBTQIA+ human rights movement across the globe.

What Will Visitors Experience?

Walk across the ‘smoky’ Stonewall Inn to the iconic bar as number one hits of 1969, like Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in, play from the ‘jukebox.’

Pull up a seat at the bar, where a video-recorded, virtual bartender in 1969 drag will chat about the going-ons on Christopher Street that day – he doesn’t know that night will mark a global changing event.

Stroll over to shoot some pool and listen to a virtual, video-recorded bar patron vent about the challenges and frustrations of the LGBTQIA+ community during 1969, and the sanctuary provided by bars like the Stonewall Inn.

Take a photo alongside the Stonewall New York neon sign and don’t forget to add the hashtag #StonewallNYexperience to your posts! More details will be announced as we get closer to the launch.

Stonewall Inn (Photo Courtesy of Stonewall Museum)

How Can Visitors Become Part of the Experience?

Naming opportunities are available. Your name or the name of a loved one or business can be scratched into the wood at the iconic Stonewall Inn bar or displayed in another prominent place, like rebranding a pack of ‘cigarettes’ in the Stonewall Inn ‘vending machine.’ (For details on naming opportunities and contributions, contact Executive Dir. Robert Kesten at: Robert@stonewall-museum.org or 954-763-8565 ext. 1106).

The Stonewall New York Experience May Be Headed to a City Near You!

While the Stonewall New York Experience will launch at the Stonewall-Museum.org in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it will become a traveling exhibition/experience in Fall 2024, striving to be in all 50 states over 10 years.

As of right now, The Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library will host the special LGBTQ+ exhibition at 1300 East Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 from June 1, 2024, to September 2, 2024 (Labor Day).

SNMAL Hours
11 am to 5 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
11 am to 8 pm on Thursday
11 am to 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday

Learn More About Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library (SNMAL):

“Our museum derived its name from the historic Stonewall riots, indisputably one of the seminal moments in the history of the LGBTQIA+ movement in the United States,” said Robert Kessten, Executive Director of the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library. “This custom-built retrospective will bring people together to celebrate in a unique, immersive way how Stonewall Inn changed the trajectory of LGBTQIA+ life.”

For 50+ years, SNMAL has tirelessly fought to tell the stories of the LGBTQIA+ community, ensuring it holds its place in the historic record. This LGBTQIA+ library, archives, and museum is a one-of-a-kind institution collecting and sharing powerful stories, hosting dynamic weekly events, launching fact-based solutions to real-world problems, and mobilizing educators who face an ever more difficult time educating students. SNMAL’s National Education Task Force recently kicked off in Washington DC.

(Photo Credit: Stonewall Museum via Facebook)

The Stonewall New York Experience will also be featured in SNMAL’s “Raising the Bars” national initiative, created to remind us all how important bars like the Stonewall Inn and bar culture are to our community. Many were a safe haven, others a place to forge friendships, find love, and enjoy the freedom of acceptance. As the beloved Stonewall Inn burned to the ground, the Stonewall Riots ignited a united front to band together, to fight together for the indelible human rights too many people take for granted.

‘Don’t Say Gay’ may have started in Florida, but has impacted other states, even corners of states we could never have imagined,” said Kesten. “And while 2023 began with a pile-up of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and violence, we at Stonewall had more requests for information, traveling exhibitions, and conversations; the momentum of those espousing homophobia became and continues to become less and less palatable to a majority of Americans, giving us all hope for the future, and a strong national push into 2024.”

Kesten added, “With every community around the world having members of the LGBTQIA+ in them, all races, religions, nationalities, and ethnicities, we are bringing everyone under the rainbow flag. This year our community will become the visible connection between all communities because we are there.”

For more information about SNMAL and the forthcoming ‘Stonewall IN Stonewall’ exhibition, visit their website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter).