San Francisco's GLBT Historical Society to have new home in heart of Castro District

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Just announced by Mayor London Breed, the Castro District will be the new home for the GLBT Historical Society.

The society's historic museum has been looking for a new, larger home for years, but the pandemic delayed its plans until now.

City leaders and community members were at the site on Friday to announce the plan.

San Francisco's rich LGBTQ history will soon be enshrined and celebrated in a new space right in the heart of the Castro neighborhood.

Breed unveiled the sign for what will be the future home of the GLBT Historical Society Museum and Archives.

MORE: Rainbow Pride flag in SF's Castro District officially becomes a city landmark

The GLBT's previous home was the nation's first stand-alone museum of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history and culture. It is often referred to as San Francisco's "queer Smithsonian."

The historical society said this new space off of Market and Noe Streets is more than eight times bigger than the previous spot, allowing it to display even more for visitors.

For now, the historical society plans to take over the second floor of the building with plans to eventually expand to the lower level.

The museum's expansion plans were put on hold back in 2020 because of economic impacts from the pandemic.

Breed and the museum's executive director celebrated what this step means to the community.

MORE: 'We were here': Sonoma Co. historians look to preserve LGBTQ history in North Bay

"To ensure there was a permanent home for a museum, a place that told the stories of -- that those stories were not lost," Breed said.

"We are just excited that we are able to stay in the Castro. We're trying to lift up the stories of individual and groups that we don't really hear of in mainstream media," said Executive Director Roberto Ordeñana.

Breed and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman are expected to introduce new legislation next week at the board of supervisors meeting on the purchase and sale agreement of this building.

Ordeñana said this process has been decades in the making and wouldn't be possible without funding already set aside by Breed in 2021 and state funding secured by Senator Scott Wiener two years ago.