This is where some 300 activists from around the country met between February 23 and 25 in 1979 to organize what would become the historic National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights. Today, it is home to a historical marker that commemorates what’s been called the “Seneca Falls of the LGBT civil rights movement.”

The corner of 21st and Locust features an historical marker that highlights where Barbara Gittings once lived. Known as the mother of LGBT civil rights movement, Gittings was the editor of the first lesbian magazine “The Ladder” and co-organized the Annual Reminders march each July 4th at Independence Hall between 1965-69. A street in the Gayborhood is also named after the activist, called Barbara Gittings Way.

Not only is Independence Hall where our country was founded, but it was also the site of Annual Reminders, some of the earliest LGBTQ demonstrations in the U.S. Led by activists like Barbara Gittings, the first Annual Reminder took place in front of Independence Hall in 1965 and aimed to highlight how basic American rights were not afforded to LGBTQ people.

This library opened up its doors over 30 years ago as a way to combat stigma and misinformation at the peak of the nation’s HIV/AIDS crisis. It continues to be a safe and educational space for the LGBTQ community to this day. A historical marker was installed in front of the library in honor of its 30th Anniversary.

This historical marker at 13th and Locust commemorates local psychiatrist and gay activist Dr. John Fryer. In 1973, the Temple University professor fought for the American Psychiatric Association to stop considering homosexuality a mental illness.

The Gayborhood, an area of Center City bound by 11th, Broad, Pine, and Walnut Streets, got its name in 1997 during Outfest, a big festival that celebrates National Coming Out Day and continues to take place each October in the same location. There are 36 rainbow street signs in this vicinity, as well as the rainbow crosswalk at 13th and Locust that commemorates the neighborhood’s LGBTQ history and community.

Giovanni’s Room is heralded as the oldest LGBTQ and feminist bookstore in the U.S. From its humble beginnings on South Street in 1973, it has doubled in size and is now a beloved spot at the corner of S. 12th and Pine, in the heart of the Gayborhood. When it almost closed in 2014, Philly AIDS Thrift (located on S. 5th Street) signed a two-year agreement to become the proprietor of Giovanni’s Room and it has remained open ever since. When the weather’s nice, there are bins outside of the store filled to brim with discounted and free books, but it’s worth getting lost among the thousands of books behind the blue door, too.

One of the most influential pop artists of the late 1970s and 1980s, Keith Haring (born in Reading, Pa.) created this mural just north of Point Breeze in 1987. Haring was openly gay and used a lot of his work to express his sexuality and advocate for safe sex. He was, undeniably, an influential fixture in the LGBTQ community in the 1980s, and his legacy lasts today. Sadly, Haring died of AIDs-related illnesses in 1990, but in the past few years Philly’s Mural Arts program has helped refurbish and restore this Ellsworth Street gem back to its original state.