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Queer author James Baldwin’s house becomes national landmark

137 West 71st Street. Courtesy Apartments.com

It’s about time…

The National Register of Historic Places has added the New York apartment of author James Baldwin to its list of historical landmarks.

Baldwin, the author of Notes on a Native Son and If Beale Street Could Talk lived in the residence at 137 West 71st Street for more than 20 years, and penned some of his most acclaimed works within its walls. During his lifetime, Baldwin spoke candidly about being a gay African-American man and made membership in both communities the cornerstone of his activism and writing.

Related: Why won’t James Baldwin’s estate let the public view his love letters?

The naming of Baldwin’s home as a national landmark comes at the end of a long campaign for both state and national monumenthood.

“Seeing James Baldwin’s NYC residence listed on the National Register of Historic Places is the realization of our mission, in part, to increase LGBT representation on this important official inventory of sites and to formally recognize the U.S. home most closely associated with Baldwin, a pivotal voice of 20th century America,” said Amanda Davis, project manager at the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, which helped champion the recognition.

Earlier this year, Baldwin’s apartment also received more local recognition from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as both a state and city landmark.

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