A Colorful WorldPride in New York City

by Paul Heney
Last updated:: 1:40 PM ET, Wed July 3, 2019

The iconic Stonewall Inn bar in New York City (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Revelers at the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Backdrop at the main stage outside of Stonewall.(Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Lines to get in gay clubs were common all weekend. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Many storefronts paid homage to the 50th anniversary. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Even the sidewalks were wearing their Pride. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Gold was the color of the night for these partiers. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

The Martinique hotel's pride decorations. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Tara Williams of The Martinique conducts a special, LGBTQ focused area tour of the hotel. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

One of the displays at the Museum at FIT. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Monica Huang and friends. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Attendee Josh Moon is inspired by the scenery. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

New York City's AIDS Memorial. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

The rainbow-tinged playbill for the musical Waitress. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Rainbow colors across Macy's. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Andy Cohen aboard the Bravo TV float. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Marchers get ready to approach the parade's starting line. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Parade marchers near the halfway point of the route. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Spectators cheer from along the parade route. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Spectators watch the parade floats. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Will Thomaskovic poses underneath a rainbow of balloons. (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Marchers pose for a photo with friends at the end of the route. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Dramatic post-parade posing. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Rooftop partiers at The Standard, High Line hotel. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Partiers at The Standard, High Line's WorldPride party. (Photo by Paul Heney) (Photo by Paul Heney.)

Stonewall Inn

1/25

On Friday evening, crowds gathered in and around the famed Stonewall Inn, site of the riots that helped change the face of the LGBTQ resistance, on the 50th anniversary of the protests.

Stonewall Revelers

2/25

Crowds in front of the Stonewall Inn were electrified, given the progress that has been made over the past half-century. Still, one sign reminded people that the fight must continue.

Stage Backdrop

3/25

The main stage outside the Stonewall Inn featured performances and appearances by Lady Gaga, Chelsea Clinton, Don Lemon, Alicia Keys, Bob the Drag Queen and other celebrities.

Club Lines

4/25

The huge influx of queer visitors to New York-5 million-meant that lines to get in many gay clubs (such as this one near Stonewall) were longer than normal, often stretching down the street.

Storefronts

5/25

Walking around Manhattan, many more storefronts than usual were getting into the Pride spirit, with quite a few celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.

Sidewalk

6/25

Messages of support for the LGBTQ community were all over New York City. Even the sidewalks boasted positive messages for queer visitors.

Golden

7/25

WorldPride meant that most every streetcorner was full of people showing their pride, as well as their best outfits. This group of visitors were decked out in their best gold drag.

The Martinique

8/25

The Martinique New York on Broadway - Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, at 32nd and Broadway, along with many other hotel properties, were showing their spirit for guests coming into town for WorldPride. This lovely rainbow of balloons adorned the hotel's entryway, a short walk from the Pride Parade.

Tara Williams

9/25

The Martinique New York on Broadway - Curio Collection by Hilton hotel printed a special pride guide for guests, which included events and a parade map. In addition, Tara Williams, the Director of Guest Relations, ran a special walking tour in an around the NOMAD neighborhood, pointing out different LGBTQ sights and historical areas.

Museum at FIT

10/25

As part of Williams's walking tour, guests visited the little-known, free Museum at FIT. The fascinating exhibits covered the gamut, from top hats and flat slippers from 1808 France, to Bill Blass, Jordache jeans, Donna Karan, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and more. Truly a queer visitors' paradise!

Monica Huang

11/25

Monica Huang, second from right, poses with friends after watching the WorldPride parade. Huang, a New York native living in Philadelphia, said she never felt comfortable being who she was until the past few years. While her parents have not embraced her coming out, her friends have, so they came to pride together. "I've had a great time, I feel loved," she said.

Josh Moon

12/25

Austin native Josh Moon lives in Philadelphia and has been HIV-positive for 10 years. "I've put a lot of lovers in the ground, I've put a lot of people in the ground," he said. "WorldPride is paying homage to all those who came before us. The fight is still happening; we're still writing history and people are still dying. This (display) means a lot to me right now."

AIDS Memorial

13/25

A man comforts his friend at the New York City's AIDS Memorial, located just a few blocks from the Stonewall Inn and the WorldPride parade route.

Waitress

14/25

Broadway shows were a hot ticket all weekend, with the huge influx of queer travelers. Some shows, such as Waitress (starring Shoshana Bean), gave a shout-out to the community with a special rainbow treatment across the top of the playbill.

Rainbow Building

15/25

Dozens of buildings across Manhattan were lighted in rainbow colors to celebrate WorldPride. In fact, NYC & Company facilitated rainbow lightings across all five boroughs, making for unforgettable evening viewing of the city.

Andy Cohen

16/25

One of the biggest hits of the WorldPride parade was queer celebrity Andy Cohen, riding on the Bravo TV float, joined by several Real Housewives reality TV stars.

Pride Parade

17/25

New York's Pride parades are always large events, but this one, with the 50th Stonewall anniversary and WorldPride mixed in, was another level. An estimated 160,000 marchers participated in the parade on foot or on floats!

Parade Participants

18/25

The parade's many thousands of participants included civic groups, other cities'/regions' Pride representatives, government agencies, queer groups, and corporate citizens.

Attendees

19/25

New York officials estimated that 3 million visitors would come to the city for WorldPride. In the days leading up to the event, that number grew to 4 million. Now, just after the event's conclusion, the estimate is closer to 5 million attendees.

Parade Floats

20/25

Spectators across the parade route held many touching homemade signs honoring friends and loved ones, as well as promoting political causes and the continued fight for LGBTQ equality.

Will Thomaskovic

21/25

Local dancer Will Thomaskovic took time out from his New York Live Arts show, "10 Hairy Legs," to check out the WorldPride sights. "Honestly, there are more people here than I think anyone expected," he said. "But the city is always open and always welcoming. It's very exciting-and a little overwhelming-but I think it's going to be an amazing experience for everybody."

Post Parade

22/25

As marchers finished the long route, they took time to pose with onlookers for photos, as well as re-connect with friends, to plan the rest of their day.

Posing

23/25

After the excitement of the parade, this attendee posed for a dramatic photo in front of this William Booth quote on the front of the Salvation Army New York Division Headquarters.

The Standard, High Line

24/25

As the parade wound down, many LGBTQ visitors trekked over to The Standard, High Line hotel for a rooftop party celebrating the last day of WorldPride. The weather was perfect, with temperatures in the low 80s and a nice wind blowing.

Inside The Standard, High Line

25/25

For those who didn't want too much sun at The Standard, High Line hotel's rooftop party, the floor below still offered incredible views of the Manhattan skyline, with air conditioning to boot.

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Paul Heney

Paul J. Heney is a lifelong writer and avid world traveler. He's served as Editorial Director for several hospitality magazines, including Luxury Hotelier, Hotel Design, and Hotel & Motel Management. He has written extensively about family travel, green issues, cruises, and LGBT travel issues. He has won multiple Azbee awards for writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and served as National President of the association from 1999-2003. He lives in suburban Cleveland with his partner and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @paulheney or Instagram at @paulheney.