Who We Are:
Christopher Street Tours is comprised of a dedicated and passionate group of tour guides that care about LGBTQ history and the mission of making this important information accessible to all. We believe in engaging our guests through fun and informative ways, painting an accurate picture of LGBTQ history. We share stories from activists of the past as an inspiration to those who join us, to continue through their footsteps into the modern LGBTQ movement.
Our Tour Story:
Our story starts in 2015, with a graduate thesis paper, “The Impact of the Stonewall Riots on College Students.” Written by our founder, Michael Venturiello (studying Higher Education at the time…), a spark was ignited. Learning about the Stonewall Uprising and it’s impact around the world created a passion for Michael to learn more about his own history. The initial plan was to continue on that thesis paper, eventually publishing a historical fiction novel about the Stonewall Riots (which is still in progress). Moving to New York City a few years later, Michael wanted to join an LGBTQ history walking tour to learn more about the historical area, but was disheartened to see that the only options available were during Pride month, or too expensive for his post-grad budget.
Seeing a need in the community, Michael created Christopher Street Tours in June 2018 - an LGBTQ-owned walking tour company, that focuses solely on LGBTQ walking tours and experiences. We offer LGBTQ tours all year round, and in alignment with our mission to make this history accessible, we offer free tours to LGBTQ youth. Since our founding, we’ve given tours to people from all across the country and all around the world, sharing this important and meaningful history.