DESIGNATION REPORT Women’s Liberation Center Landmarks Preservation Designation Report Designation List 513 Commission Women’s Liberation LP-2633 Center, June 18, 2019

DESIGNATION REPORT Women’s Liberation Center LOCATION Borough of Manhattan 243 West 20th Street LANDMARK TYPE Individual SIGNIFICANCE From 1972 to 1987 this former firehouse was known as the Women’s Liberation Center. The building was home to numerous lesbian and feminist organizations, and became an epicenter for women’s engagement in the LGBT civil rights movement. Landmarks Preservation Designation Report Designation List 513 Commission Women’s Liberation LP-2633 Center, June 18, 2019

243 West 20th Street New York City Department of Taxes Photograph (c. 1938-1943), Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS Lisa Kersavage, Executive Director Sarah Carroll, Chair Mark Silberman, General Counsel Frederick Bland, Vice Chair Kate Lemos McHale, Director of Research Diana Chapin Cory Herrala, Director of Preservation Wellington Chen Michael Devonshire Michael Goldblum REPORT BY John Gustafsson Margaret Herman, Research Department Anne Holford-Smith Jeanne Lutfy Adi Shamir-Baron EDITED BY Kate Lemos McHale PHOTOGRAPHS BY LPC Staff Landmarks Preservation Designation Report Designation List 513 Commission Women’s Liberation LP-2633 Center, June 18, 2019 3 of 19

Women’s Liberation Center Chelsea, and the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, and 17 individuals. No one spoke in opposition to the 243 West 20th Street, Manhattan proposed designation. The Commission received 124 written submissions in favor of the proposed designation, including from Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz, New York City Council Member Adrienne Adams, the Preservation League of New York State, and 121 individuals. Designation List 513 LP-2633 Built: 1866 Architect: Charles E. Hartshorn Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan, Tax Map Block 770, Lot 17 Calendared: May 14, 2019 Public Hearing: June 4, 2019 On June 4, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation of the Women’s Liberation Center as a New York City Landmark and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No.3). The hearing was duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of the law. Thirty- seven people testified in favor of the proposed designation, including representatives of Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and City Councilmember Daniel Dromm. Speaker Johnson’s testimony was jointly signed by State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Daniel O’Donnell, and New York City Council Members Margaret Chin, Daniel Dromm, Carlos Menchaca, Debi Rose, Ritchie Torres, and Jimmy Van Bramer. Also speaking in favor of the designation were representatives of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, the Historic Districts Council, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Society for the Architecture of the City, the Victorian Society of New York, the Real Estate Board of New York, the National Parks Conservation Association, Save Landmarks Preservation Designation Report Designation List 513 Commission Women’s Liberation LP-2633 Center, June 18, 2019 4 of 19

Summary of lesbians, fought to raise visibility for women at LGBT political rallies and pride marches, and Women’s Liberation Center advocated in particular for lesbian mothers. The Women’s Liberation Center also housed the Lesbian Switchboard, a volunteer-staffed telephone service that provided peer counseling, referrals, and information about local events. During a time when the LGBT community was frequently The Women’s Liberation Center is located at 243 West 20th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of stigmatized and forced to remain in the shadows, this service provided much needed mental health Manhattan, in a former firehouse designed in 1866 support and a sense of kinship among New York by Charles E. Hartshorn. From 1972 to 1987, th

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