Join the New York Preservation Archive Project (NYPAP) for a deep dive into how historic sites in New York City first began to be recognized for their LGBTQ significance. The evening will feature brand new clips from oral history interviews with leading preservationists as well as opportunities for audience discussion.
 
Twenty-five years ago local activists and preservationists set out to put LGBTQ history on the map. In 1994 REPOHistory’s Queer Spaces project placed temporary history markers on nine sites in Manhattan, The Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects & Designers (OLGAD) published the first map of LGBTQ historic sites in Manhattan, and a first attempt was made to nominate Stonewall for the National Register of Historic Places. As we mark the celebration of Stonewall 50, there have been many gains and losses in the movement to preserve and recognize local LGBTQ landmarks. Understanding this history that led to the current moment will strengthen the preservation movement for the work ahead.
 
Oral histories featured at this event have been recorded through NYPAP’s ongoing oral history project on NYC’s LGBTQ historic preservation, funded in part by New York State Council on the Arts and Thompson Hine LLP. All the oral histories we collect are freely available to the public, so that future preservationists can benefit from the experiences captured. View NYPAP’s full oral history collection at www.nypap.org/oral-history.
 
 
Liz Strong is the Oral History Program Manager for the New York Preservation Archive Project (NYPAP). In her time with NYPAP she has run two oral history initiatives with preservationists in New York City, “Saving Preservation Stories” and “Through the Legal Lens”. This year she is also kicking off the latest oral history project, Uncover the Roots of NYC’s LGBT Preservation. In 2016, she wrote NYPAP’s introductory guide on “Oral History & Preservation”.
Outside of her work with NYPAP, Liz is a freelance oral historian and has served clients such as The Columbia Center for Oral History, The Washington Department of Commerce, The University of Arizona Steward Observatory, and many others. Since 2017, she has worked with the Brooklyn Historical Society as Project Coordinator for the “Muslims in Brooklyn” public history project. She earned her MA in Oral History from Columbia University in 2015, and her BA in Narrative Arts from Oberlin College in 2009.
 
 
Brad Vogel served on the Board of the Archive Project from 2012 until 2018, as well as Vice Chair for a period, before being selected as Executive Director. Vogel served as an historic preservation fellow with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in post-Katrina New Orleans and was named Louisiana Preservationist of the Year in 2011. Vogel also worked as an attorney in New York City for over six years and has published a book of poetry. He currently serves as on the international board of the Circumnavigators Club and as Captain of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club.