On the road, and looking to find a place to learn about LGBTQIA history?
The GLBT Historical Society Museum, located in San Francisco’s Castro district, has reopened to the public after closure during the Omicron surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first stand-alone museum of LGBTQ history in the US, the GLBT Historical Society Museum displays the only known remnant of one of the two original rainbow flags from 1978. The museum opened its doors to the public in 2011 and welcomes over 20,000 visitors annually.
The reopening inaugurates a new schedule for the museum, which will now be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Visitors can experience two exhibitions currently in display at the museum. The Front Gallery currently hosts “Performance, Protest and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker.” This exhibition uses textiles, costumes, photographs and ephemera to paint a complex portrait of artist Gilbert Baker (1951–2017), who designed the iconic rainbow flag. The Main Gallery hosts our long-term exhibition, “Queer Past Becomes Present,” showcasing photos, documents and artifacts telling the stories of over a century of everyday queer life among the diverse populations of San Francisco.
Ticket reservations are available online at www.glbthistory.org/museum, and walk-ins are welcome when the museum is below capacity. The museum’s COVID-19 protocols, which include a vaccination requirement, are still in place.
Ticket prices for the museum remain unchanged. General admission is $10; discounted admission for youth (ages 13 to 17), seniors (age 65 and over), students, teachers, active-duty military service members and people with disabilities is $6; and admission is free for children (age 12 and under), GLBT Historical Society members, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cardholders and North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) members. Admission is free to all on the first Wednesday of the month, thanks to a grant from the Bob Ross Foundation.
See www.glbthistory.org/covid-19-information for more information.
