History was made in Cherry Grove on August 10 when United States Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand, so instrumental in getting New York and National recognition for our 65-year-old Community House and Theater, came to the Community House to unveil plaques designating its place on the New York State Historic Register and National Register of Historic Places. The plaques read: “New York [followed by a map of New York State]/Cherry Grove Community House and Theater/as listed on the NYS Historic Register …/the oldest continuously operating gay theater in the U.S.” and “Cherry Grove Community House and Theater/established 1947/Cherry Grove, Fire Island, New York State/listed on the National Register of Historic Places/June 4th, 2013.”
On the Community House stage were Senator Gillibrand, Cherry Grove Community Association, Inc. (CGCAI) President Diane Romano, Arts Project of Cherry Grove (APCG) President Thom “Panzi” Hansen, and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation National Heritage Trust Executive Director—and Cherry Grove volunteer Firefighter for 25 years—Alan Payne.
Before introducing Senator Gillibrand, Romano noted that $516,000 has already been raised for the Save Our Community House (SOCH) campaign, that $300,000 remains after funds have been spent on initial structural repairs, and that CGCAI has filed for a matching government grant of $300,000. “Gay people have been pushed aside in history. Today we are front and center,” Diane said proudly. She called Gillibrand “our unwavering champion” and continued, “We consider you to be our own Senator.”
Thanking the Presidents and all members of CGCAI and APCG, Gillibrand said, “The Cherry Grove Community House represents one of the first civic entities to integrate Gay and Lesbian interests” into the larger community and memorably hailed the House as “an icon in an iconic community.” She called the two historic designations significant steps in applying for Federal Historic status, the highest a historic site can attain, before she unveiled the two plaques.
Romano introduced Hansen, saying that the “Arts Project is a true partner in this endeavor” and mentioned “creative antics,” a phrase Hansen commented on. “Senator Gillibrand is the highest official ever to come here to Cherry Grove,” he pointed out, and went on to present the Senator with an APCG “Unity in the Community” t-shirt.
Romano acknowledged Carl Luss for writing and submitting the applications for including the Community House in the historic registers.
The Office of Parks’ Payne said that these “designations are appropriately rare and necessarily exclusive” and observed that Community House “is only the third [LGBT] landmark placed on the National Register,” joining Stonewall and Washington D.C.’s Franklin Kameny House. These are sites, said Payne, connected with “the Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Movement,” and he declared, of the House, “It is a landmark in a very literal way.”
Payne brought a proclamation that reads, “New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation/This is to certify that/ Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre/Cherry Grove, Fire Island, Suffolk County, New York/in recognition of its significance in American history and culture was listed on the State Register of Historic Places on April 19, 2013 under provisions of the State Historic Preservation Act of 1980/and the National Register of Historic Places on June 4, 2013 under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.”
The ceremony concluded with Romano’s short and sweet champagne toast, which was, simply, “Here’s to Cherry Grove!”