Gay History Museum in San Francisco

It has been estimated that around 10%—or about 70,000 people—in San Francisco identify as GLBT. It may surprise you, but this is not much different than in many other large cities. So why locate a queer museum there if it's not much different than other cities? In my opinion, the reason you will find the only GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM (opened Jan 13, 2011) in the United States located in the beautiful bay area, is because of the cities history for queer acceptance.

It may not be so much that San Francisco has a larger LGBTQ population, as it is about those who are among that LGBTQ San Francisco population. Typically the gay folks are more open and demonstrative within the city. Because the city has a wonderful history of tolerance and acceptance it feels as if a larger LGBT population resides there; possibly due to the fact that we are more comfortable holding hands and being "ourselves" when in the city by the bay. Now that we have the GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM as another great reason to head for the city, we can navigate to the Castro for companionship and entertainment, but also experience and respect those people and events who have blazed a rainbow-trail for the rest of us. Commemorating our timeline at the GLBT History Museum will help us to better understand where our LGBT roots began.

The San Francisco GLBT History Museum is one of only two GLBT museums in the world, and the only one in the United States. The other museum is located in Berlin, Germany; Schwules Museum opened its doors 25 years ago.

“Our letters were burned, our names blotted out, our books censored, our love declared unspeakable, our very existence denied.”

• 1,600-square-foot museum
• Chronicles the evolution of the liberation of GLBT community
• Harvey Milk's personal items
• Exhibit - Our Vast Queer Past
• Exhibit - Celebrating GLBT History
• Exhibit - Great Collections of the GLBT Historical Society Archives

Museum Information:

Location:

4127 18th St.
San Francisco, CA 94114

Hours:

Wednesday-Saturday,
11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.

Admission:

$5.00; free for members.
First Wednesday of the Month: Free
(sponsored by the Bob Ross Foundation)

For more information:

call 415-621-1107