A new home in the Castro for the nation’s first dedicated LGBTQ+ history museum has received the official blessing of the city and county of San Francisco.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum will move from its current location at 4127 18th Street to a property at 2280 Market Street that will give it about 10 times as much space, according to the mayor’s office.
District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman called it a historic day.
“With this purchase, a two-decades-long dream of securing a permanent home for the GLBT Historical Society Museum is finally a reality,” he said in a statement.
“The museum will serve as a local and international destination and a community hub to elevate the stories and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals, ensuring they are celebrated and remembered for generations to come,” Mandelman said.
The 22,330 square-foot property was identified in September by the city’s real estate division as a strong candidate for the site after being directed by Mayor London Breed to find a new permanent home for the museum, which opened in 2011.
The museum is currently in a 1,660 square-foot space. It will first occupy 11,165 square feet on the second floor in its new location, which will include the museum, the Historical Society’s archives, its research center, and administrative space. It will expand to the ground floor as leases in the building expire, according to the mayor’s office.
“As we look ahead to our 40th anniversary in 2025, this milestone comes at a critical time when our voices need to be heard, and our work has never been more important in elevating and amplifying our stories.”
Roberto Ordenana, GLBT Historical Society executive director
The Castro was one of the birthplaces of the gay rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, as its residents opened queer-friendly businesses, fought against discriminatory laws, and elected Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors as one of the first openly gay representatives in the nation.
The neighborhood also brought attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s through advocacy and care networks.
A permanent home for history
Roberto Ordenana, the executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, said he was “thrilled” that that purchase had been finalized.
“This is more than just a physical space; it is a permanent home for our history, where the stories, struggles, and triumphs of LGBTQ and allied communities will be preserved and shared for generations to come,” he said.
“As we look ahead to our 40th anniversary in 2025, this milestone comes at a critical time when our voices need to be heard, and our work has never been more important in elevating and amplifying our stories,” Ordenana said.
The city spent $11.6 million on the purchase of the building, taken from a $12.5 million set-aside fund established by Breed for that purpose in 2021.
Another $5.5 million was contributed by the state from funds secured by state Sen. Scott Wiener for programming and building improvements.
The Historical Society said on its website that the new space will help it expand exhibitions and use the newest technology available, offer film screenings, talks, and other public programming, make the museum more accessible and expand its digital presence.
The building will be managed in a public-private partnership between the city’s Community Arts Stabilization Trust, or CAST, and the GLBT Historical Society. The city’s Real Estate Division will lease the building and CAST will coordinate subleases.
Design for the museum and finalizing the lease agreements will happen sometime in 2025, according to the Historical Society and the mayor’s office.
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