Home of first same-sex couple to legally wed in S.F. gets landmark status
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Phyllis Lyon (top) and Del Martin were the first same-sex couple to be married in San Francisco.Deanne Fitzmaurice / The Chronicle 2008Show MoreShow Less
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S.F. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman (left) and historian Shayne Watson talk in front of the former home of the late Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.Lea Suzuki / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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The initials of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin are carved into the sidewalk in front of their house.Lea Suzuki / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
In front of a hilltop cottage at the very southern rim of Noe Valley are the initials “P.L.” and “D.M.” scratched into the cement.
A San Francisco supervisors panel Monday endorsed landmarking the Noe Valley home of the late pioneering lesbian couple Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. The decision coincided with the observance of Lesbian Visibility Day.
The supervisors land use and transportation committee unanimously voted 3-0 to recommend that the full board landmark the couple s 651 Duncan Street residence when it meets May 4. It is set to become the first city landmark honoring lesbian history. I knew them both and adored them, said District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin. I have been to their house many, many times. Thank you to everybody involved in landmarking it. Yeah, it s awesome.
Bay Area Reporter :: San Francisco supervisors panel backs Lyon-Martin House landmark ebar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ebar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
On a hilly residential street in Noe Valley, the small house at 651 Duncan Street gives no hint of its outsized role in influencing over 50 years of LGBTQIA+ civil rights. From the moment they purchased the property together in 1955, partners, advocates, and authors Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin energized the San Francisco LGBTQIA+ community, offering their home as a safe space for women to champion women s rights. Over many decades they successfully fought to validate and decriminalize lesbian identity, shape anti-violence and anti-discrimination policies, and promote marriage equality and elder rights.
At a time when lesbianism was characterized as immoral or illegal, there were almost no public places lesbians could safely meet in 1955. This is why the Lyon-Martin House had to serve as the de facto headquarters for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first national lesbian rights organization and one of the most influential and enduring LGBTQIA+ organizations in the United States. Over t