Neon Comes Out: San Francisco’s Gay Bar Signs Illustrated Talk Thursday, June 9 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. In-person program The Tenderloin Museum 398 Eddy Street, San Francisco $10 | $5 for members

Gay bars were often hidden, unmarked enclaves for only those in the know. Often veiled behind tinted glass, with narrow entrances to allow doormen to screen patrons, they needed to hide the goings-on within from the general public, and the police, as a matter of survival. In the late 1960s, bars started coming out of the dark, announcing themselves with neon signs. In this talk co-presented by the GLBT Historical Society, historian Jim Van Buskirk will be joined by Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of San Francisco Neon Historic Sign Preservation to discuss vintage photographs of San Francisco bars. Most of the photos were taken by Henri Leleu and are in the GLBT Historical Society’s archives. They capture the dawn of San Francisco’s gay bars and clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. Come prepared to share your personal histories of these long-gone (as well as a few surviving) sites. GLBT Historical Society members are entitled to $5 off the general admission price, available when ordering tickets online. Tickets are available online here.

Queer History Conference 2022 Community Event Sunday, June 12 – Wednesday, June 15 In-person program Hosted by San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco $30–$100

The GLBT Historical Society is delighted to be cohosting a groundbreaking conference in June gathering researchers, educators, community organizers and history enthusiasts from across the United States and beyond to showcase new directions in the histories of same-sex sexuality, transgender identities and gender nonconformity. The conference will take place on the campus of San Francisco State University from June 12 to 15. The conference—the second national conference of the Committee on LGBT History of the American Historical Association—will survey the LGBTQ past across more than 500 years. The majority of panels will take place in person, though some will be remote and hosted on Zoom. Tickets are available online here.

Quick updates from the GLBT Historical Society:

To celebrate the Pride season, the GLBT Historical Society has four free museum days scheduled for June! These free days are made possible by the generosity of the following sponsors: the Bob Ross Foundation, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and Big Run Studios, Inc., as part of Doors Open California. Online tickets are not available; just come to the museum during normal business hours and you will be welcome.  Wednesday, June 1Saturday, June 4Saturday, June 11Sunday, June 12

Flag in the Map LGBTQ people from around the world, including repressive societies, share anecdotes about what the rainbow flag means to them Out in the World A curated selection of 12 stories organized around six themes explore the experience of LGBTQ members of the vast Irish diaspora.

Queeriosities Our own “cabinet of curiosities” highlights a selection of unusual, rare objects from the Art and Artifacts Collection. Stories of Our MovementHistoric headlines, cover images, articles and ads from the LGBTQ newspaper the Bay Area Reporter in honor of its 50th anniversary.