1967: Craig Rodwell opens the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors in the United States, the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop at 291 Mercer Street in New York City.  (It moved to 15 Christopher Street in 1973.)  Despite a limited selection of materials when the bookstore was first established, Rodwell refused to stock pornography and instead favored literature by gay and lesbian authors.  Due to the economic crisis of the late ’00s, the bookstore ultimately closed on March 29, 2009.