The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved a deal that will see the city purchase a property in the LGBTQ Castro district to establish the country's first freestanding LGBTQ history museum and archival center. The sale is expected to close next month.
The 11 supervisors unanimously voted in support of the deal at their meeting Tuesday, October 29, as LGBTQ History Month enters its final days. They will need to take a second, perfunctory vote next Tuesday to finalize their approval, at which point the city's real estate division will be able to complete the purchase of 2280 Market Street at Noe Street.
As the Bay Area Reporter broke the news last month, the city is paying $11.6 million for what is known as the Market & Noe Center and needs to finalize the sale by November 30. It is doing so on behalf of the GLBT Historical Society, whose leaders have dreamed for decades of establishing a full-fledged museum where they can display their large and growing archival collection and properly tell the story of the city's LGBTQ community.
"This milestone resonates nationally, preserving our community's stories and struggles for future generations. Together, we celebrate this progress and look ahead to creating a vibrant, enduring home for LGBTQ history and culture in the heart of the Castro," stated Roberto Ordeñana, a gay man who is executive director of the LGBTQ preservationist nonprofit.
It currently leases a commercial space on 18th Street in the heart of the Castro, but its jewel-box of a museum there is limited in what it can include among the exhibits. It also rents space downtown for its archives, research center, and administrative offices, all of which it would like to be housed in a single location with a far larger museum floor plan.
The search for such a site was kick-started into high gear when Mayor London Breed allocated $12.5 million in city funds toward the museum project in her 2021 budget proposal. It was followed by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) securing $5.5 million in state funds for the project, which must be used by early 2026.
When Kent Jeffrey and his family lowered the price they were seeking for the two-level shopping center with rooftop parking from the $17 million they had initially listed it at in 2021, it opened the door to the negotiated sale price put before the supervisors to approve. The city and Jeffrey had reached an agreement for the 14,640 square foot parcel below its target price of $12 million.
"Today's vote marks a monumental step in our decades-long work to find a suitable space that will preserve the city's LGBTQ history and culture and pay tribute to those who have fought for equality and justice not just for San Francisco, but for the entire nation," stated Breed, who is locked in a tough reelection battle on next Tuesday's ballot. "What better place for a permanent home where this museum will welcome visitors from around the world than the Castro district, a destination beloved and renowned by so many."
Two of her opponents in the mayoral race, District 3 Supervisor and board President Aaron Peskin and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, joined their board colleagues in backing the LGBTQ museum deal. Last Wednesday, October 23, the supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee had voted 3-0 to recommend that their colleagues approve it.
Committee meeting
At that hearing, historical society board chair Ben Chavez Gilliam quipped the city has a chance to acquire a property that had a "Neiman Marcus price" for that of a "Ross price," referring respectively to the high-end and bargain basement retailers.
"It is the right time to buy," said Gilliam, a gay man who is Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT's managing principal and national market leader overseeing acquisitions, dispositions and global corporate services for its parent company, Realogy Holdings Corporation.
City officials had looked at multiple properties over the years, but they were either too expensive or located outside of the Castro. LGBTQ leaders had repeatedly called for the new museum building to be situated somewhere in the LGBTQ neighborhood, as a feasibility study had recommended.
"Mayor Breed deserves enormous credit for committing budget resources for this acquisition back in 2021 and preserving those funds in our city budget each year since then," stated gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro at City Hall. "During that time, we have explored a number of different sites in the Castro and beyond, had our hopes variously raised and dashed. In the end, I believe we have found an ideal location, in the heart of the Castro with space for the museum to make its permanent home now, and with plenty of room to expand in the future."
Mandelman also credited Wiener for securing the state funding that will be designated toward helping the historical society build out the second-floor space inside the shopping center that it will first relocate its museum into. It is expected it will later expand into the ground floor spaces when the current commercial tenants' leases expire.
"Thanks to Senator Wiener, the museum will enter that space with a solid start on the fundraising that will be needed to make it the first-class celebration of LGBTQ history the Castro and the queer community deserve," stated Mandelman. "The future of America's best gayborhood is getting brighter all the time."
Wiener, expected to easily win his own reelection bid next week, said he is "thrilled" that the long-gestating project is moving forward. He added he expects "for many years to come" to be an attendee of the new museum, which he lives nearby.
"At a time when right-wing forces are attempting to erase LGBTQ people, one of the most powerful things we can do is tell our stories," stated Wiener. "This amazing museum will finally provide a space to tell that story in a compelling and comprehensive way, right in the heart of the neighborhood that gave the LGBTQ rights movement so much progress."
Building's past, present
Once home to Finnila's Finnish Baths, the existing 30,000 square foot commercial building was built in 1987. For the time being, the city's Real Estate Division will oversee the property as it works out a lease agreement with the GLBT Historical Society and the Community Arts Stabilization Trust. Known as CAST, the community-centered, arts and culture focused real estate organization works to secure and steward affordable spaces for nonprofit arts and culture organizations in San Francisco.
For years the location of a Tower Records after it opened, the shopping center today has two tenants in ground floor spaces. Barry's Bootcamp is subleasing its storefront from CVS and can remain through 2040, while Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care has a lease for its clinic through 2036.
Once the LGBTQ history museum expands into those spaces when they become available, it will have a total of 23,330 square feet between the two stories. For now, it will be taking over the vacant second floor space that is a little over 11,000 square feet. (Its current museum is just shy of 1,700 square feet.)
"We can make history together," historical society board member Ani Rivera, a queer Xicana who is executive director of Galería de la Raza, told the supervisors' budget committee in urging them to support the purchase of the building. "Please, please support this endeavor and think about the many generations to come who will call this place home."
The public-private partnership between the city, CAST, and historical society is being formed for the purposes of managing and operating the property, the assumed leases, and the museum. It is anticipated that the lease and sublease agreements will be introduced to the Board of Supervisors for approval in mid-2025.
Initially, the city will retain 10% of the combined $58,000 in monthly lease payments from the commercial tenants and put the rest of the money into a separate reserve account to be used by the historical society for capital improvements and possibly programming. Once the lease agreements with CAST and the historical society are approved, then CAST will receive the 10% for taking on the property manager role.
While many are eager to see the new museum open as soon as possible, at last week's hearing it was stated that it is likely to open sometime in 2027. The city's long-term goal is to eventually transfer ownership of the property to the GLBT Historical Society.
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!