Andrew Shaffer, interim co-executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, introduced the new virtual tour of the Lyon-Martin House in San Francisco's Noe Valley to a small group of invited guests March 22. Late lesbian pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin lived at the home for decades. It's where they held social events with the Daughters of Bilitis, the early lesbian group they co-founded, as well as many other gatherings. Following Lyon's death in 2020 (Martin died in 2008), the Friends of Lyon-Martin House sought city landmark status for the home, which the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved last year. (The property, which includes a large lot and the small home, was sold in 2020.) CyArk, a Bay Area nonprofit that pioneered the application of 3-D recording technologies to the preservation and celebration of cultural heritage, designed the virtual tour. John Ristevski, CyArk CEO, told the Bay Area Reporter that the project includes interviews with Lyon and Martin's daughter, Kendra Mon. Whitney Peterson, CyArk program manager, said Mon shares "very personal memories" in the virtual tour. CyArk created the 3-D model for the tour using thousands of photographs and laser scans to accurately document the home as it exists today. The rendering additionally incorporates digital versions of several of Lyon and Martin's possessions currently housed at the historical society's archives to provide a sense of the interior when they lived there. To take the virtual tour, click here.
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