THE STONEWALL NATIONAL MONUMENT
OF GAY LIBERATION
About the Stonewall National Monument
The Stonewall National Monument, established by President Obama in 2016, is the first national parksite honoring LGBTQ+ history.
It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village and preserves Christopher Park, managed by the National Park Service.
The Stonewall uprising in June 1969 began when LGBTQ+ patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York City stood up against a police raid. Their resistance ignited days of protests and became a defining moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, inspiring the Pride celebrations we know today.
The Collaboration
The Talking Statues project collaborated with National Park Service to bring the Gay Liberation Monumentin New York’s Christopher Park (part of the Stonewall National Monument) to life.
The Talking Statues experience uses technology and storytelling to make LGBTQ+ history more interactive and accessible to the public.
Through QR codes and recorded voices, visitors can hear the statues “speak,” sharing stories of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and the broader gay liberation movement.
Through the Talking Statues project, visitors can now scan QR codes to hear the stories of LGBTQ+ history brought vividly to life.
Try it out yourself
Listen to Father Duffy
Scan the QR code with your smartphone
The public view - How did the public receive it?
Visitors and the LGBTQ community appreciated how the project made history more engaging and personal, allowing people to literally hear voices from the gay liberation movement rather than just read plaques.
Many saw it as a meaningful way to honor queer history and bring visibility to LGBTQ+ struggles in a public, national space. The initiative was viewed as a creative, respectful, and inclusive way to commemorate the Stonewall legacy.