Film Screening with the Utah Film Center
Before Stonewall
Directed by Greta Schiller & Robert Rosenberg
87 min | 1984 | USA | Not Rated
Post-film discussion organized by Utah Pride Center. Details to be announced.
In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s gay community. With this outpouring of courage and unity the Gay Liberation Movement had begun.
Before Stonewall tells the dramatic story of the public and private lives lived by gay and lesbian Americans since the 1920s. Revealing and often humorous, this widely-acclaimed film relives the origins of today’s gay rights movement, from the events that led to the 1969 riots to many other milestones in the fight for acceptance.
Experience the decade-by-decade history of homosexuality in America through eye-opening historical footage and amazing interviews with those who lived through this closeted history.
Winner: Outstanding Informational Cultural or Historical Programming–1987 News & Documentary Emmy Awards
NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed through 2020 for repairs and renovations.
Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.
A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.
