Part of the Gay Philadelphia Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philly's LGBTQ+ bookstore in the Gayborhood since 1973.
Giovanni's Room is the oldest LGBTQ+ bookstore in the United States, open since 1973 and a cultural anchor of Philadelphia's Gayborhood near 12th and Pine. Founded by members of the Gay Activist Alliance and named for James Baldwin's novel, it was only the second queer bookstore in the country when it opened; it became the oldest after New York's Oscar Wilde shop closed in 2009. Through the AIDS crisis it doubled as a lifeline, circulating self-published medical information when little else was available. Since 2014 it has operated as Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room, taken over by the nonprofit thrift after longtime owner Ed Hermance retired — a move that kept the doors open. Today it stocks a deep, curated range of LGBTQ+ literature and serves as a community gathering point as much as a store. Worth a stop whether you're buying a book or just standing in a piece of queer history.
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