Philly AIDS Thrift to Host 50th Anniversary Celebration for Giovanni's Room, America's Longest Running LGBTQ Bookstore

Philly AIDS Thrift will celebrate the 50th anniversary of America's longest operating LGBTQ+ bookstore with a special panel and reception for Giovanni's Room. Giovanni’s Room 50 Years: Liberation Through Literature is on Thursday, August 3rd, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Ballroom at William Way LGBT Community Center (1315 Spruce Street, 2nd Floor). Meet the founders and pioneers who created and nurtured this important community hub. Philadelphia City Representative Sheila Hess will present a special proclamation from the City of Philadelphia, and there will be a wine and light fare reception, followed by a panel discussion with Giovanni’s Room folks, past and present. WXPN's Producer and on-air host Robert Drake will lead and record the discussion.  Panelists include: Tom Wilson Weinberg, Pat Hill, Arleen Olshan, Ed Hermance and Leeb Owen. A short Q&A will follow. Join us in honoring and celebrating this historic space and milestone in the community. This is a Free event and open to the public.

‘To this day, Giovanni’s Room serves as a welcoming and educational space for LGBTQ+ people and for their families and friends,” said Philly AIDS Thrift Executive Director Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou. “It’s an important local institution that also happens to be a friendly neighborhood hangout that puts out the welcome mat for everyone.”

"We're in the business of giving things new life, and we were delighted to do that with Giovanni’s Room,” said Kallas-Saritsoglou. “Sales in the store and online are doing well, thanks to support from the local community and people from around the world. We hope that new and old customers alike will join us in expressing our gratitude for this history, our joy in our present, and our hope for the future.”

Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia is the longest-running LGBTQ+ bookstore in the United States! Founded in 1973 by three Philadelphians – Dan Sherbo, Tom Wilson Weinberg, and Bern Boyle – the store was named after James Baldwin's classic gay novel. It proudly sold gay, lesbian, and feminist periodicals, literature, and nonfiction at a time when businesses catering to the LGBTQ+ community were rare.

A­fter 41 years of serving the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia, the store was set to close on May 17, 2014. Prior to that deadline, however, Philly AIDS Thrift (PAT), a local non-profit thrift store, stepped in to keep Giovanni’s Room open. The new venture was renamed Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room.

On May 1, 2018, Philadelphia AIDS Thrift purchased the business and building from the store’s owner, Ed Hermance, thus securing the legacy of Giovanni’s Room for future generations.

Since its founding in 2005, PAT’s mission has been to support communities affected by HIV/AIDS through the operation of their fabulous retail stores. In 2023, PAT and PAT @ Giovanni’s Room reached a major milestone when they surpassed the $4 million dollars mark in donations and grants to more than 40 HIV/AIDS service organizations and their programs centered on prevention and care in the Delaware Valley. Both stores are successful thanks to the tireless work of amazing volunteers and donations from the public.

Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room continues to sell new and used LGBTQ+ books, as well as clothing, bric-a-brac, housewares, collectibles, and art. It also operates the online bookstore, QueerBooks.com.

Giovanni’s Room has long been a pillar in the world of LGBTQ+ literature. Noted Black writer and activist Joe Beam worked in the store in the early 1980s and launched the book In The Life (1986), the first anthology of works by Black gay men published in the United States, at Giovanni’s Room. More recently, artists such as Samuel R. Delany, Gengoroh Tagame, and Alison Bechdel, have read or exhibited in the store. Giovanni’s Room also hosts a popular Queer Book Club, as well as readings and gallery installations for local artists, poets, and writers.

Above all else, however, Giovanni’s Room is a crucial community hub. The store has always provided a safe space for those who may not be able to live openly in other areas of their lives. In recent years, the store has made a concerted effort to welcome trans youth, who have been a prime target of a blitz of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation since 2020.

HISTORY AND TIMELINE:

* Dan Sherbo, Tom Wilson Weinberg, and Bern Boyle - Opened Giovanni's Room in 1973
That original location was on 232 South Street.

* Pat Hill bought from the above owners about a year later. Arleen Olshan and Ed Hermance bought it in 1976. They moved it to 1426 Spruce Street. This was the 2nd location for Giovanni's Room. This happened in 1976 fairly quickly after they bought it.

* In 1979 they moved locations - on August 1, 1979 Giovanni's moved to the third and final location 345 S. 12th Street where its open now.

* 1986 Arleen left the business and Ed was the sole owner. In 2013, Ed Hermance announced that he was retiring.  

* On May 17th, 2014, with the future of the building still uncertain, Giovanni’s Room closed its doors after 40 years of serving Philadelphia’s LGBT community. After a few months, on August 16, 2014, it was announced that Philly AIDS Thrift (PAT) had signed a two year lease on the building.  

* It opened as Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room on September 12, 2014.

* The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission unveiled a marker on Sunday, October 15, 2011, to commemorate the location of Giovanni’s Room, as it is the country's first LGBT bookstore still operating.
 
* In 2023, PAT and PAT @ Giovanni’s Room reached a major milestone when they surpassed the $4 million dollars mark in donations and grants to more than 40 HIV/AIDS service organizations and their programs centered on prevention and care in the Delaware Valley.

For more information visit:
https://www.queerbooks.com/
 

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