The Top 10 LGBTQ+ Museums in the U.S.

GLBT Historical Society Museum

The first museum in the U.S. dedicated to queer history, this vibrant San Francisco establishment offers visitors a veritable treasure trove of everything from irreplaceable ephemera (count Harvey Milk’s personal possessions among them) to art, printed materials, and photos. Don’t miss the permanent exhibit, “Queer Past Becomes Present,” which looks at 100 years of LGBTQ+ life in San Francisco and across the nation.

The GLBT Historical Society Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $10; it's recommended that visitors purchase their tickets in advance.

Stonewall National Museum & Archives

This Fort Lauderdale institution may have no direct connection to the Stonewall Riots, but it does boast one of the country’s largest LGBTQ+ archives and libraries. It features goodies like clothing worn by Ellen DeGeneres and RuPaul and more than 4,000 titles of queer pulp fiction. SNMA also regularly dishes out special events, including author presentations, films, and panel discussions at its gallery in Wilton Manors.

Stonewall National Museum & Archives is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. Access to the archives is by appointment only.

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

Since time immemorial, visual art has explored queer life and helped preserve LGBTQ+ history when the straight world would prefer to erase it. But it wasn’t until 1969 that a gallery exhibit in New York City pulled together from Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman's collection was dedicated wholly to the theme. Today, the museum that evolved out of that exhibit features a gangbusters assortment of more than 30,000 objects produced over three centuries, including works from names like Haring and Mapplethorpe.

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is open Friday through Sunday. A $10 donation is suggested.

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives

The granddaddy of all queer organizations, the ONE Archives in Los Angeles is not only the oldest such institution in the United States, but it also houses the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials on the planet. There are now two locations: The archives themselves—which feature everything from manuscripts and photos to personal papers, periodicals, books, and films—and a satellite gallery in West Hollywood. Here, you'll find free exhibitions of art and historical goodies from the ONE collection.

The Legacy Walk

The only museum of its kind anywhere, The Legacy Walk in Chicago is an outdoor installation dedicated to highlighting world-changing members of the LGBTQ+ community. Located in the gayborhood Boystown, along a half-mile of the North Halsted Street Corridor, the series of snazzy bronze plaques affixed to steel rainbow-colored pylons commemorate the life and work of queer notables such as Walt Whitman, Leonard Bernstein, and Alan Turing.

Guided tours of The Legacy Walk are $10 for seniors, $20 for college students, and $35 for adults; high school students and children can join the tour for free. Meals, shopping, and more can be added on for an extra cost.

Lesbian Herstory Archives

Don’t let the location fool you. The Lesbian Herstory Archives might be tucked away in an unassuming townhouse on a quiet street in Brooklyn. Still, the building is bursting at the seams with the globe’s largest collection of lesbian-related material. Founded in the 1970s as an answer to the patriarchalism rampant in the gay rights movement, the archives feature a truly jaw-dropping selection of memorabilia. Among the items here are buttons, banners, T-shirts, and printed goodies such as books, posters, and periodicals.

Leather Archives and Museum

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s no denying that the leather, kink, fetish, and BDSM subcultures are alive and well in the queer community. This Chicago institution has provided a safe space for three decades to learn about the lifestyles, displaying thousands of books and magazines, erotic art galore, sexual paraphernalia, and clothing like leather jackets and vests.

The Leather Archives and Museum is open Thursday through Sunday. Admission is free on Thursday; otherwise, the entrance fee is $10. Access to the archives is by appointment only.

World AIDS Museum

Dedicated in 2013 by basketball great and HIV survivor Magic Johnson, this Fort Lauderdale museum has, from its inception, sought to de-stigmatize the disease and preserve the history of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Exhibitions at the museum explore the HIV/AIDS crisis and how it has affected marginalized persons. Meanwhile, the ongoing oral history project, “Until the Last Story is Told,” documents the first-person tales of those who have faced it.

The museum is currently operating from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Docent-led tours are available for groups of three to 10 people.

The Andy Warhol Museum

It might be shocking to learn that one of the country’s greatest LGBTQ+ museums can be found in Pittsburgh, but then it is the hometown of queer icon and pop art great Andy Warhol. There are plenty of pieces here, including the doodly sketch, “Male Genitals,” illustrating his fabulous campy gay gaze. The museum hosts other queer-rific treats, too, like one of the state’s only LGBTQ+ proms.

The Warhol is open Wednesday through Monday. Admission is $20 for adults; it’s recommended that visitors purchase timed tickets in advance.

Alice Austen House Museum

Designated a national LGBT historic site by The National Register of Historic Places, this 17th-century house on Staten Island was home to trailblazer Alice Austen, one of the first female photographers and her long-time partner, Gertrude Tate. Look for the permanent exhibit, “New Eyes on Alice Austen,” which pays tribute to their relationship and includes a selection of the nearly 8,000 images Austen shot from the Victorian era onward.

The Alice Austen House Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. General admission is $5, and tours must be pre-booked online.