Referred to as San Francisco's "queer Smithsonian",[4] the GLBT Historical Society is one of approximately 30 LGBT archives in the United States—and is among the handful of such organizations to benefit from a paid staff and to function as a full-fledged center for exhibitions, programming, research, and production of oral histories.

The archives, reading room and administrative offices of the GLBT Historical Society are located at 989 Market St., Lower Level, in San Francisco's Mid-Market district.

The GLBT Historical Society Museum, which serves as a separate center for exhibitions and programs, is located at 4127 18th St. in the city's Castro neighborhood.

[6] At the same time, Walker was involved in a private study group, the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project; among its members were a number of individuals who would go on to make major cultural contributions, including historians Allan Bérubé and Estelle Freedman, independent scholar Jeffrey Escoffier, author and community organizer Amber Hollibaugh, and anthropologist and queer theorist Gayle Rubin.

[6] According to the GLBT Historical Society newsletter, "With this in mind, Walker sent a letter to 160 organizations and 100 individuals inviting them to what turned out to be the pivotal meeting at the San Francisco Public Library on March 16, 1985.

'"[6] Over the course of its history, the Historical Society has renamed itself twice to better reflect the scope of its holdings and the range of identities and practices represented in its collections and programs.

The 6,600-square-foot (610 m2) space included two dedicated exhibition galleries, a reading room, a large reserve for the archival collections, and several offices for staff and volunteers.

In November 2010, in anticipation of the opening of its new GLBT History Museum, the society closed its galleries and program space at 657 Mission St., while maintaining its archives, reading room and administrative offices at that location.

At the end of May 2016, the GLBT Historical Society closed its archives at 657 Mission St. in preparation for a move to an expanded space with improved facilities for researchers and staff at 989 Market St. in San Francisco.

[23] From November 2008 through October 2009, the GLBT Historical Society sponsored a pop-up museum in the Castro District at the corner of 18th and Castro streets; the space featured an exhibition, "Passionate Struggle: Dynamics of San Francisco's GLBT History" Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, that traced more than a century of the city's LGBT history using documents and artifacts from the society's collections.

[29] In addition, the society's archives house the records of José Sarria, who as a candidate in the race for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961 was the first openly gay person known to have run for elected office anywhere in the world.

[30] The society likewise holds numerous manuscript collections documenting the history of transgender individuals and movements in Northern California, including the complete papers of Lou Sullivan, founder of the pioneering female-to-male transsexual organization FTM International.

[32] The GLBT Historical Society's artifacts collection includes the personal effects of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California.

[36] Located in a storefront at 4127 18th St. near Castro Street, the 1,600-square-foot (150 m2) space houses two historical galleries with room for public programs, a small museum shop and a reception area.

Other guests included pioneering lesbian activist Phyllis Lyon, novelist Armistead Maupin, photographer Daniel Nicoletta, former supervisor and then mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty, and noted drag personality Donna Sachet.

Outside the United States, coverage included national television in Italy and Spain; radio in Belgium, Columbia and Venezuela; and newspapers and magazines such as Emarat Al Youm (United Arab Emirates), Reforma (Mexico), Tempo (Indonesia), the South China Morning Post, The Times of India and Večernji list (Croatia).

In addition, the show included examples from the society's collections of ephemera; posters; periodicals; photographs; oral history interviews; and film, video and recorded sound.

The first of these shows opened in early March 2012: "Life and Death in Black and White: AIDS Direct Action in San Francisco, 1985–1990."

The exhibition focused on the work of five photographers—Jane Philomen Cleland, Patrick Clifton, Marc Geller, Rick Gerharter and Daniel Nicoletta—who used the medium of black-and-white film to document the emergence of militant protests in response to the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco.

[46] The Bay Area Reporter characterized the show as "a concise, laser-focused exhibition ... of 17 carefully selected black-and-white photographs," adding that it "distills the tenor of those times and provides a microcosm of what was at stake as the federal government, either out of obliviousness, callousness, prejudice or a combination of all three, turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the proliferation and devastating impact of the disease.

The crisp and clean black and white photos bring a feeling of control and simplicity to a time of chaos, when an unnamed disease targeted half of the city's gay men and government agencies seemed incapable of listening.

[49] As part of its educational mission, The GLBT Historical Society Museum offers group tours led by trained volunteer docents and occasionally by the exhibition curators.

[55] In June 2016, the GLBT Historical Society announced a long-term initiative to build a "new museum of LGBTQ history and culture"—a world-class center for LGBT public history projected for completion in the coming decade; the center would include expanded galleries and archives, new spaces for hosting public programs and researchers, and other enhanced facilities.

Early in 2017, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution "calling on municipal authorities, philanthropists and business leaders to support the GLBT Historical Society's efforts to develop a new LGBTQ museum and public history center in the city.

[65] In addition, numerous articles about the society have been published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals; these include Martin Meeker's "Archives Review: The Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California";[66] Don Romesburg's "Presenting the Queer Past: A Case for the GLBT History Museum";[67] and Gerard Koskovich's "Displaying the Queer Past: Purposes, Publics and Possibilities at the GLBT History Museum.